The Born Supremacy
by Captain Black Knight
Summary: The end of a war brought about the advent of a government using legendary Pokémon to rule the world. When one woman discovers an egg with the last legendary Pokémon, can she use it to abolish the world government? Some pairings and political references. Read and Review! Chapter 9 is up!
1. Prologue

Author's Notes: Hey guys, CBK here with a brand new fan fiction. I've decided to post the Pokemon fan fic (for those of you that read my profile), and I think I'm posting this at a rather opportune time (for those of you that pay attention to the news). Don't worry, I'll finish the Smash Bros. fan fic in due time; for now you guys get a special treat - the prologue to my fourth fan fic on this site. (Yes, I know the title is a very bad pun; don't kill me, Matt Damon fans!).

This prologue is much more developed than my last one, so it shouldn't dissapoint. Also, there are political references here, so all I ask is that you DO NOT FLAME! Thank you, and enjoy! Oh, and don't forget to review!

Disclaimer: I do not own the right to Pokemon. I do, however, own the OCs and this storyline.

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_**The Born Supremacy**_

Prologue

_The Pokémon world is flooding with mysteries and unanswered questions, questions about the origins of Pokémon, their underlying powers, and, of course, the future of these wondrous creatures. Questions such as these are often raised when people especially discuss the subject of legendary Pokémon. They wonder whether these special Pokémon exist, let alone what kind of power they hold. Few have even considered regarding them as gods. One could argue that this notion isn't entirely 'Farfetch'd', considering the similarities between these legends and the myths of gods of various religions. Like gods these Pokémon have been rumored to hold extraordinary powers beyond those of any living being in this world, and a few of these Pokémon have even been portrayed as deities in folktales and ancient stories. Perhaps these legends are responsible for governing the laws of this world; speaking of governing, it seems that no one ever questions our government for what it's worth._

_ I remember the way the world used to be before a new era of society changed everything. Countries around the world were able to do as they pleased under an unwritten code of international ethics. Their own national governments were set up in order to ensure the security and prosperity of their people and the Pokémon who lived in peace. Most nations promoted democracy, allowing their citizens to do as they chose to ensure their own prosperity and security and, of course, their freedom. One can still talk to the people who lived in the time before the new era and hear their words of resentment for the advent of the new world._

_ You might be wondering why I am speaking of legendary Pokémon and government in one discussion, but you will understand my meaning once I explain everything._

_ The advent of this new era dates back to ten years ago, but the incident started about three years before that. Prior to that time many countries lived in peace and without fear. However, the peace was short-lived, as neighboring nations began to argue amongst each other, fighting over resources, ideologies, and, of course, Pokémon. The conflict started in the region between Europe and the Middle East as a minor miscommunication issue, but then the problem blew out of proportion and nearly exploded into an all-out nuclear war. Now, nuclear weapons were not involved, but the fight did consist of battles using both man-made weapons and Pokémon. Nations attacked each other as well as the allies of other nations; those nations became angered and involved with the fight. The world then realized that another full-scale war broke out, and it was so violent and involved so many powerful nations that people called it the Third World War._

_ The world already suffered two world wars in the twentieth century; so another world war was the last thing that anyone needed. However, the war was unavoidable for many countries. Middle Eastern nations such as Iran, Saudia Arabia, and Pakistan battled European nations such as France, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Other nations that declared war – some of them on their own side of the war – included Italy, Spain, Japan, North Korea, India, Brazil, Venezuela, Israel, Egypt, China, and, to the dismay and relief of many, the United States of America – my homeland._

_ As the war raged on, the President of the United States, Ms. Sephiria Markheim, had to make a tough decision. She received a message from the allied nations France and the United Kingdom to once again help them win the war. Italy had already fallen, Germany and Spain were falling fast, and Japan and India had their own issues fighting North Korea and China._

_ "Madam President, how will you respond?" an advisor asked her. She knew that her decision would have major consequences one way or the other, and she had to keep in mind the events of the previous world wars. The only question was this: should the U.S. enter the war and run the risk of losing to other foreign nations, or should the U.S. stay out of the war and run the risk of being attacked with an unprepared defense?_

_ President Markheim and the 117__th__ Congress decided to declare war on only certain nations. Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela were at the top of the list, while Pakistan and Saudi Arabia followed closely should other nations like Israel and Russia need help. The remaining opposing nations would only feel the wrath of the U.S. military if they were to strike first._

_ The war lasted over three years, and neither side seemed to have an advantage. People knew that the war had to be ended, but no one had any idea of how to do so, until a few citizens came up with the idea to seek out the help of the legendary Pokémon. Unfortunately, the idea was misinterpreted by citizens and world leaders alike, so instead of merely asking for the help of the legends to end the war, the Allied Powers actually enlisted various military generals and citizen soldiers to seek out and capture the legendary Pokémon of the world – if they even existed, that is._

_ The world would soon learn the hard way that the legends were in fact true, as the Allied generals successfully captured the legendary Pokémon and used them to gain an edge over the enemy forces. The more powerful Pokémon demonstrated their powers to cause catastrophic results on unwary armies, and other Pokémon simply intimidated the rest of the nations that learned of the destruction caused by so many deities. The enemy nations – who called themselves the Sixa Powers – surrendered to the Allied Powers, and the war came to a very painful end._

_ Civilians, soldiers, and Pokémon alike sacrificed their very lives for the war effort. Others were rendered homeless or injured from the battles. Few were lucky to escape from the war unscathed, but everyone knew that the world would never be the same ever again._

_ The events following the war defined the major change in the way people and Pokémon lived for years to come. The generals and world leaders of the Sixa Powers were brought before military court, and they were all relieved of their titles and powers as leaders. Some of them were charged with war crimes and sentenced to serving life in prison. The worst of them were actually executed. Their Pokémon were taken from them and custody was transferred to the armies of the Allied Powers. Fortunately, not a single Pokémon was punished, for the judges knew that these Pokémon lacked criminal minds and the ability to perform war crimes._

_ The Allied Powers assumed temporary control over the enemy nations until they were able to gather together – along with the remaining members of the United Nations – for an emergency conference meeting regarding the war. UN representatives knew that such a catastrophic war as this one must never happen again, and so world leaders – under the direction of the Allied Powers – structured a means to prevent another world war from occurring in the future._

_ Their final plan consisted of this: the side that won the war achieved victory by means of the legendary Pokémon that are currently in the possession of various members of the Allied Powers. Thus, the owners of the legends must assume control over the nations of the world. A new world council will be formed to establish a global sovereign that will govern every living citizen of this Earth. Each member of the new council – the owners of the legends – will hold authority over a particular country, its neighboring countries, and/or entire continents, depending on the rank of the member – which is determined by the power of the legendary Pokémon he or she possesses. The members with the most powerful legends will be part of an elite group among the world council. This elite group will be responsible for creating the laws of the world, and the remaining council will be responsible for enforcing and interpreting the laws. No single member shall hold authority over the entire council without a unanimous vote from the entire council nor without limiting terms of powers and the responsibilities of the elected leader. This new world council shall be titled "The Supremacy," and the elite group shall be titled "The Super Supremacy."_

_ It seemed that the representatives of the United Nations had no choice but to enact this new world council (and little did they know that the UN and the European Union would be abolished in place of the world government). The main reason they did it was to prevent another world war from occurring, but some people believed they did it for other reasons. Some were convinced that the Allied Powers wanted to prevent the adversarial nations from gaining any kind of power that would be a threat to the rest of the world – be it through the economy or other means. Others believed that the Allied Powers would use their legendary Pokémon to dominate the world by force or to coerce other nations without such powerful beasts if these nations – especially the ones not involved with the war – chose not to enact the world council._

_ So, that's how the world has been ever since. The Supremacy did a fine job of protecting the people of the world – at first, but over time leaders became too overpowered, and they failed to do their jobs effectively and morally in the eyes of their citizens. Most people I know – those who lived in the age before the Supremacy and those who didn't – are sick of the Supremacy nowadays, but only a few actually express it in public, due to the fear of punishment for apparent treason. People have tried in vain to call out to the Supremacy and have their voices heard, and of course no progress has been made. Do you know why people are sick of the Supremacy? It's because of the fact that it forced independent sovereigns to meld into one overpowered totalitarian entity that has – deliberately or not – deprived human beings of most of their freedoms, their wealth, and, oftentimes, their securities. The council has angered the very people it has tried to protect, and, ironically, it is about to utterly fail in its goal to protect its citizens, if it hasn't already done so._

_However, as the tenth anniversary of the Supremacy's enactment approaches, the council members will soon face what will be known as the Ultimate Conspiracy, for it is about to begin, whether people know it or not. Let me tell you the story._


	2. Don't Rock the Boat, Baby

Author's Notes: Alright! It's finally time to post this opening chapter to the story! Between college and some negative reviews on the prologue I've been to busy and discouraged to post this sooner than I am. But thanks to VampireoftheNet I got the motivation to perfect the first chapter and to finally post it! So here you are, ladies and gents! By the way I just celebrated my birthday yesterday, so I'm in a really good mood. XD

The story will be narrated in third person (either omniscient or limited, I haven't decided) unless I have a POV chapter slipped into the story. This chapter will introduce the characters and get right into the action (well, somewhat). One of the main characters is an OC, and because of the nature of this story there will be many OCs, but only a few of them will play vital roles to the plot (hint: you've already seen one of them in the prologue). Also, if any of you are Misty and/or Brock fans, this story is for you, because there in this story. :P Well, without further ado, enjoy the story, and don't forget to review (no flames!)!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or its characters! I do own this story and the OCs!

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Chapter 1: Don't Rock the Boat, Baby

"Hey, come on! We'll take off without you if you don't hurry up!" A voice yelled from an awaiting boat in the docks. The redheaded teenage girl was yelling to another blonde teenage girl who was walking towards the docks and talking on her cell phone at the same time.

"Whoops, I have to go; we'll talk later," the blonde girl said as she ended the call and put her phone back in her pocket. "Wait for me, guys!" She then gripped her black backpack (the kind with one strap that connected from the left shoulder to under the right arm) and dashed towards the boat. The boat in question was a high-quality boat, but it was no cruise ship. It was only a few months old, about half the size of a yacht, and it had decent-sized cabin space.

"Hey, Brooke, it's about time you joined us," the redhead spoke up as the blonde named Brooke finally boarded the boat.

"Yeah, thanks for the support, Misty," Brooke replied sarcastically while she caught her breath.

"Hey, give her a break, Misty," a young man spoke up as he approached the two girls. "She had to take care of her Pokémon, and at least she offered to go get supplies for us." Misty just rolled her eyes and sighed, while Brooke cracked a smirk at the tall tanned man next to her.

"You see, Misty? At least Brock understands me. Besides, you'd do the same thing, and then we'd have to wait for you." Misty couldn't tell if she was being smug or just plain honest.

"Whatever; who were you talking to, anyway?" Misty asked. Brooke's brow twitched; she resisted any temptation to correct Misty's improper grammar.

"Oh, that was Mom again, as usual. She calls so frequently it annoys me sometimes, but I guess that's Mom for you." Misty giggled, but Brooke's answer made Brock reflect on a few things.

_At least you talk to your mother_, he thought, remembering two things: the fact that he doesn't see or talk to his mother often (considering that they're not exactly on good speaking terms), and the fact that his longtime friend, Ash, was sent to a reformatory to atone for a crime that, in Brock's opinion, he didn't commit. The latter made him sympathize for Ash's mother, since almost all ties with Ash were cut off for the duration of his sentence, causing her to be practically heartbroken.

"Earth to Brock, you there?" Brooke waved a hand over his face to get his attention, which made him flinch a bit.

"Yeah, what's up?" he asked, hiding any kind of negative feelings while he snapped back to reality.

"Misty already went ahead into the cabin. Let's join her," she replied, inviting Brock to follow her. He noticed Brooke's behavior as she expressed herself without a care in the world, but he knew better. She was disgusted with what was going on in the world, but her emotions showed otherwise. Perhaps it was out of denial, an attempt to not worry anyone, or maybe she was simply taking advantage of a small relaxing holiday for the first time in a while. Brock decided not to dwell on it too much, or else the others would think him insane.

Misty noticed the others enter the cabin and offered them a few sodas, which they gladly accepted. They took their seats around a coffee table (Brock in an armchair, and Misty and Brooke on the sofa) as the boat left the dock and took off towards its destination. They were heading to a summer villa off the Atlantic coast that Professor Oak managed to reserve for the holiday – he had quite a few connections to some reputable people.

"It feels great to be heading back to America for a vacation," Brooke commented as she leaned back against the sofa with her cola in hand. "It's been a while since I was last home. Matter of fact, if we get a chance, I should invite you guys to my place near Pittsburgh."

"That would be great," Brock agreed, drinking his ginger ale. "It would be a nice change of pace."

"We're lucky that Professor Oak even invited us to join him at the villa," Misty mentioned as she sipped her orange soda. "So, don't go making too many plans." Brooke simply waved away Misty's comment. Upon noticing this gesture, Misty asked her something. "By the way, how are you not burning up in all of that black clothing?" She indicated Brooke's attire, noting that she wore black shoes, black pants, a black halter-top, sunglasses atop her blonde hair, and a dark overcoat [**A/N:** yes, the kind you would see in the Matrix movies]. Even her winter attire would be almost completely black as well.

"Hey, black looks great on anything, and it isn't that warm outside," Brooke answered. "Matter of fact, I'm surprised you're not chilly in shorts and a tank top." It seemed that Brooke always had a tact response to anything that Misty had to say. Brock couldn't help but laugh inwardly, although he decided not to say anything and instead drink his ginger ale. Misty took her response with a grain of salt and again sipped her orange soda, while Brooke secretly praised herself with a large swig of her cola. Some time had passed before anyone spoke up.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Tracey and Mrs. Ketchum are going to be there with Professor Oak," Brock decided to mention this detail a bit late.

"It will be nice to see them again," Misty said. "It's just too bad that Ash won't be there."

"Hm? Ash who?" Brooke inquired as she looked up at Misty. Misty was taken aback by the fact that she didn't know Ash, but then she remembered that the two of them had never met. Brock knew that, anyway, so he wasn't surprised.

"He's a longtime friend of ours, but we haven't seen him in a while," Misty replied with a slight tone of sadness.

"Where is he, might I ask?"

"Prison," Brock answered bluntly. Brooke gasped lightly and looked at him. Misty glared at him for his insensitive reply, but she couldn't deny the truth in what he said. "He was convicted for a crime that we think he didn't commit, and he was sentence to serve time in a global reformatory. In fact the one to which he was sent is in the U.S."

"On what charges, do you know?" It was obvious that Brooke, an aspiring attorney, was intrigued by this conversation.

"I think the charges were obstruction of justice, attempted conspiracy, and treason against the Supremacy. Why?" The last part he said nearly made her choke on her cola.

"What?! He was charged with treason? Of course the Supremacy had to be involved; I knew it! Here's the question, though: what exactly did Ash do to make them think he committed a crime?" Now Misty was asking herself why she even brought up Ash if it would have resulted in creating a heated conversation.

"He had the bright idea to somehow get the Supremacy leaders to release the legendary Pokémon they captured, but he decided against following through with it at the last moment. However, somebody was listening in on his conversations and thought that he was conspiring with some anarchist agency in order to do it. Long story short, he was basically framed." After listening to Brock's explanation, Brooke slammed a fist onto the coffee table. Her blood boiled from the disgust she felt towards the Supremacy, the world government that ruled with an iron fist – and legendary Pokémon – over national governments and everything else.

"So I'm not the only one who wanted to release the legendary Pokémon, eh? I can't help but feel a great deal of respect towards Ash for at least making an effort. Damn the Supremacy and their oppressive laws!" She couldn't help herself when she said that.

"Sounds like someone is angry with the council," another voice interrupted the conversation and startled them. The captain and driver of the boat had entered the cabin and overheard them speaking. "Don't worry, I won't report you; I just wanted to get a drink."

"Hey Keith, how much longer will it take to get there?" Brock inquired. They had been on the boat for over half an hour.

"Oh, we're almost there," the captain Keith answered. "It will take another fifteen minutes before we arrive at the dock. Anyway, I'll leave you three to your conspiring. Let me know when you succeed; we'll have a party to celebrate." With that lighthearted comment he left the cabin and returned to his post at the helm.

"It sounds like he's not a big fan of the Supremacy, either," Misty finally spoke up after several minutes.

"And he shouldn't be," Brooke added as she finished the last of her cola and discarded the can, crushing it in the process. "I hate the council. I knew that establishing a world government would be a bad idea, but no one listened to me. It disgusts me to know that those leaders are using legendary Pokémon to enforce their authority on the rest of us."

"I agree; they need to leave the Pokémon out of it," Brock said. Misty just sighed.

"Whatever, I don't feel like talking about it anymore; it's not helping my mood." Brooke removed her backpack and her coat and set them aside, being careful to put her phone into her backpack to keep it dry. "I'm going to calm myself with some fresh air. I'll be back." She stood up and left the cabin, while the others remained inside.

Carefully closing the door behind her, Brooke walked across the deck and leaned on the rails of the stern. She let the breeze blow through her hair and the smell of saltwater tickle her nose. As her thoughts drifted, her eyes caught a sight in the distance that didn't seem too good: storm clouds were forming in the opposite direction the boat was heading. It seemed that the mainland was going to get some nasty rain.

Although she did notice that the clouds were ever so slowly forming near them, Brooke wasn't too worried about the bad weather, especially if they were going to avoid it. She had other things on her mind.

_I wish there was something I could do to end the Supremacy's tyranny_, she told herself. _After all, I can never forgive them for what they did to the world…and what personally happened to me. _She began to recall negative memories of her Pokémon journey. _Thanks to a bunch of Supremacy law enforcement goons I almost lost my best Pokémon friend._ Without even thinking about it she gripped one of the Pokéballs on her belt.

"At least he's still with me," she muttered aloud.

"Who's still with you?" another voice interrupted. Brooke slightly flinched and turned to face the source of the voice. Brock emerged from the cabin door and waved.

"Oh, I was just thinking about my Pokémon," she answered meekly.

"Do you mind if I join you?" he asked. "Misty's taking a nap, and I don't want to disturb her."

"Sure, I don't mind," Brooke replied with an odd change of expression. Her tone went from concerned to carefree in a second. Brock noticed this, but he also noticed many other things about her: how her blonde hair swayed with the wind, and how her earrings and necklace glistened in the sunlight and made her face radiate even more. Despite her dark appearance Brock thought she was pretty; the little grin she gave confirmed that as well.

Brock stepped toward the stern rail and leaned on it next to Brooke. He had a lot of questions to ask her, but it turned out she got to him first as she spoke up.

"Tell me something, Brock," she began. "What kind of person is this friend of yours, Ash?" He thought it was odd of her to ask about somebody she didn't know, but then he decided it would do no harm to describe him to her.

"Well, he's slightly younger than Misty, and he's a Pokémon trainer – or at least, he was one until the court took away his Pokémon for the duration of his sentence. His Pikachu now lives with Ash's mom, while the rest of his Pokémon are in the care of Professor Oak." Brooke knew that much (even if she hadn't realized it referred to Ash in particular beforehand), but she let him continue. "Anyway, he's quite the hotheaded kid, and he's not exactly the brightest person I know, but he has a kind heart and more courage than a lot of people. He's also very talented at Pokémon battles, even if he won a lot of them by dumb luck." Brooke giggled at the last comment.

"Wow, he sounds like a very interesting individual," she remarked. "I'd be shocked if you didn't miss him. Although, it makes me wonder if…if I'm just here to fill an empty space that he left." Brock was rather stunned by that last part. He and Misty only became friends with Brooke a year ago (a few months after Ash was locked away), but that didn't mean she was just a replacement. That wouldn't be fair to her or Ash.

"What are you saying?" Brock asked with concern. "There is no way you could replace Ash; you know why? It's because you have your own special place in our hearts. Misty and I care about you just as much as we care about Ash. You're our friend, and nothing about that has to be different." Those words of encouragement certainly had an impact on Brooke. After gazing into his dark eyes and seeing the sincerity within them, she let herself smile again as if there was nothing wrong.

"Thanks, Brock," she finally said as she slightly blushed. "I needed to hear some positive words, and you certainly helped." Brock accepted the compliment with a nod. "I feel better now – that is, if this boat would stop rocking so much."

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"Oh, I just tend to get motion sick when I travel." She absentmindedly put an arm around her abdomen and a hand over her mouth, indicating she was feeling a bit seasick.

"Are you alright? Maybe you should—"

"Oh, I'll be fine," she cut him off as she turned away from him. "We're almost there, so I can just…uh-oh." She stared into the sky and noticed a turn of unfortunate events. Brock looked in the same direction and saw it, too: the dark clouds from before were forming rapidly and covering the sky above them. Raindrops then fell and drizzled the two of them.

"Oh, this can't be good," Brock muttered. A storm began around them as the clouds darkened further and the rain became heavier. As they made a sad attempt to cover themselves from the rain, the sea churned and created large waves. "We need to get back into the cabin before—" before he could finish his sentence, the waves rocked the boat and threw them off balance. They desperately gripped the rails of the boat as lightning tore through the clouds and the waves grew bigger. The boat violently rocked again and threw Brooke towards the front of the boat, despite Brock's attempt to grab her hand.

Just as Misty tried to open the cabin door, the sheer force of Brooke's body colliding with the door caused it to slam shut, trapping Misty inside and the others out. Of course, the impact shot pain through her entire back and head, but Brooke couldn't think about it now. She reached for one of the two pillars supporting the upper deck and held it with as much effort as possible.

"Grab onto the other pillar!" she called out to Brock, who tried his hardest to hold onto the rails. That was a mistake, though, for just as he made the daring dash towards the pillar, the waves violently rocked the boat again – so much that they actually sent Brock overboard and into the raging waters. "Brock, no!"

There was something she had to do. Fortunately she found a floatation ring with a coiled rope hanging on the wall behind her. She grabbed it and carefully made her way towards starboard – until Misty stopped her.

"Brooke, what are you doing?!" she cried. "You can't go out there in a storm like this!"

"Brock fell overboard, and I have to go after him!" Brooke yelled. "There's nothing else I can do! Don't worry, I'll be back!" Even Keith tried to stop her, but he yelled in vain as Brooke dove off the starboard side and into the water. Of course, the second she did that, the waves rocked the boat again and sent it drifting off course. Misty and Keith were helpless inside the cabin as Brooke became separated from them.

She couldn't go back, though; not yet, at least. With the floatation ring in hand she swam forward and scouted the waters for any sign of Brock.

_I've got to save him_, she told herself. _I'll never forgive myself if I don't_. In the distance she finally managed to see and hear Brock yelling through the storm. Unfortunately, as she swam towards him, she saw him get pulled under by the waves. She had to act fast if he had any chance of survival. She dove under with the rope (leaving the ring at the surface) and swam as quickly as humanly possible. She finally reached the now unconscious Brock and pulled him up with her towards the surface, despite her vital need for air.

Thanks to the rope she managed to carry Brock with her towards the floatation ring. She broke through the surface with a large gasp for air and then grabbed hold of the ring while still holding onto Brock. The problem now was the fact that they were nowhere near the boat or the island where they were headed. However, since the island was in sight, she decided to swim in that direction.

After swimming several yards with Brock and the ring in hand, Brooke's stamina was running low. If she kept going at this rate, they would both go under without the ring. That's when she got an idea: she reached for a Pokéball on her belt and released the Pokémon inside it.

"Floatzel, help us!" she cried as the Sea Weasel Pokémon emerged. Brooke grabbed hold of Floatzel with one arm and held onto Brock (along with the ring) with the other arm. Floatzel then got to work and did the rest. The twin tails that moved like propellers certainly helped, since Floatzel swam much faster than Brooke ever could, especially with such a load on its back.

After several minutes of braving the raging waters, they eventually reached the calmer waters and the point where they would soon arrive on the island shore. Brooke could see the boat wrecked on the shore along with five people standing near it.

"Thanks Floatzel, I can take it from here," she said as she sent the Sea Weasel Pokémon back into its Pokéball. She swam the rest of the way with Brock and the floatation ring in tow.

"There! I see them!" Misty cried as she peered into the ocean. She rushed towards the edge of the shore. The others (including a lagging Professor Oak) followed, gasping, as they saw Brooke carefully walking up to them with Brock over her shoulder and the ring being dragged by its rope in her hand. They could tell that Brooke was struggling to keep her strength. She collapsed to her knees and almost dropped Brock, but Tracey caught him right away and gingerly set him on his back. Misty, of course, assisted Brooke.

"Are you alright, Brooke?" Misty asked with great concern and a hint of fear.

"I'll be fine," Brooke replied as she tried to catch her breath. _Brock still needs help…_she kneeled over Brock and checked for a pulse and any sign of breathing. The pulse was there, but he wasn't breathing.

"Come on, Brock, breathe! Don't die on me!" she yelled as she gently shook him, ignoring Misty's and Tracey's minor protests. She didn't care who thought what at the moment. Instead she went on to try a series of rescue breathing procedures (fortunately CPR was not necessary). After a few attempts Brock finally coughed up saltwater, but he remained unconscious. The sheer force of the raging waters must have taken a great toll on him.

"There, he'll be okay now," Misty said softly. Satisfied with her efforts Brooke backed away a bit to give Brock some space, which let Tracey move in and (with Keith's help) pick up Brock. She and Misty looked towards them as they carried Brock on both sides.

"We'll take him inside for you," Tracey spoke up. "You just worry about yourself and let Misty help you." Brooke then looked back at Misty as the guys began to trek up the hill with Brock. Misty offered a hand, but Brooke just ignored it as she gingerly stood up and took two steps.

"I'm sure I'll be just—" but instead of finishing her sentence, Brooke dropped to her knees again, causing Misty and Delia Ketchum to gasp. She felt weak, and the pain in her back and head came back to her. Misty took a hand in one of hers and made direct eye contact with her.

"You're exhausted; let me help you," Misty said firmly but kindly. Brooke finally gave in with a sigh and let her help. Misty helped her stand up, and she let Brooke lean on her for support.

"Thanks, Misty," was all she said with a small smile as they and Delia carefully followed the others up the hill and into the villa, leaving the storm behind them.


	3. From the Eye of the Storm

Author's Notes: I'm back with another chapter! Surprising, isn't it? I guess something good came out of the Blizzard of 2010 (for those of you living in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. like me, you know exactly what I mean). Being stuck in my house and yet still having power and wireless access called for more fan fic writing. Unfortunately the weather didn't affect my college classes, since I still have to do work unlike the people that actually attend campuses (hooray online college?). At least I managed to write another chapter while waiting out this snowstorm. And people think it's global warming...for those of you that believe that global warming exists, I have two things to say to you: 1. look at the weather in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., and 2. read this chapter. You'll find out how the storm REALLY happened.

Aha, see? I managed to tie my pithy comments (thank you, Bill O'Reilly!) to my brief summary of this chapter. In this chapter you'll learn the cause of the storm, and you'll also see more of Brooke's behavior. "This World, Subspace, and Beyond" readers might figure out that this Brooke is different from the other Brooke in terms of her thinking patterns. You'll also see Tracey Sketchit, Professor Oak, and Delia Ketchum (yay!), but I think that Tracey might be slightly OOC. Slightly...anyway, with that said enjoy and review!

One more thing: There's an OC in here that makes a brief cameo. He belongs to my old meteorology professor at Penn State, David Babb. See if you can find him. Dr. Babb, if you're reading this (I don't know why you would, but there's a chance), then kudos to you, because this chapter is for you - thanks for an awesome METEO 101 class! :D

Misty: Captain Black Knight does not own Pokemon, only the OCs and this story.

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Chapter 2: From the Eye of the Storm

The group made their way inside the grand summer villa that provided not only a beautiful venue for a vacation spot, but also – at the moment – a safe haven from the nasty weather outside. Professor Oak ushered the gentlemen to the upper floors of the villa where they could find numerous bedrooms. Tracey and Keith gingerly placed Brock onto a bed in a room on the third floor, and after Tracey checked Brock for any further signs of injury or illness they left him to rest without any disturbance.

Meanwhile Delia gathered a few items that would help the girls dry off from the rain. Brooke in particular had to change into a new set of clothes for the time being until her other clothes dried, so after Delia retrieved her backpack from the boat, she led her and Misty to a few changing rooms and afterwards proceeded to the kitchen to make some tea.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Misty asked Brooke as the latter whipped out some black flannel pants and a plain black T-shirt.

"Yeah, for the most part I am," she replied. "I'm actually not feeling as weak as I did a few minutes ago. If it will satisfy you, I do plan on taking a rest later. Delia's tea must come first in my opinion." Misty accepted her answer as a sound one and proceeded to dry her hair with a towel as Brooke retreated into the bathroom. Misty kept recalling the day's events without saying much of anything as she towel-dried her ginger hair. Eventually she resorted to thinking aloud.

"I still can't believe that a nasty storm like that would just whip up so quickly."

"Oh yeah, tell me about it," Brooke said as she emerged from the bathroom in dry clothes, hanging up her soaked ones on a shower rack and leaving her damp shoes with them. "Those storm clouds were quite a distance away when I was looking at them, and then they just seemed to rapidly expand out of nowhere. That doesn't make too much sense to me."

"Do you have any idea what might have caused that?"

"Not really, but it didn't seem natural; that's all I can tell you—ow!" Brooke clutched a part of her back and winced. Misty rushed to Brooke's side as she took notice of her condition. "I forgot that I slammed my head and back hard off that cabin door; I guess the pain didn't go away yet."

"Let's go find Mrs. Ketchum. Perhaps she can find first aid or something like that." Brooke approved of Misty's suggestion, and they both left the changing room to proceed to the kitchen. Delia had finished brewing several cups of tea for everyone and noticed them walk in. As Misty explained Brooke's condition to her, Delia gave them some ice packs to alleviate the pain. She also gave them two cups of tea and a blanket for Brooke to take into the living area where they could relax. They gladly accepted and moved into the living area, taking a seat on the sofa.

"This blanket will sure help," Brooke commented as she wrapped it around herself. "I'm still rather cold from the weather and from being soaked." She let her tea cool off and placed an ice pack on the back of her head. Misty added some sugar cubes to both their cups and then took a delicate sip from her own cup to not burn herself.

"Hey, do we get any tea?" Keith asked teasingly as he and Tracey walked into the living area and took their seats in some armchairs. Professor Oak followed them and also took up a seat on another sofa.

"Mrs. Ketchum made plenty of tea, trust me," Misty replied. As if on cue Delia walked into the room with a tray of teacups and set the tray on the coffee table, taking a seat on the sofa next to Oak. She just smiled, knowing that her point was already made for her. Brooke, of course, cut to the chase and spoke up.

"So, how's Brock?" she asked. The others looked at her, but Tracey chose to speak.

"He's still out cold," he said with a straight face. "I checked for any other injuries, but he seems okay for the most part." That answer wasn't exactly the one that Brooke wanted, but she accepted it anyway. After all things could have been worse at the moment.

"I see," she muttered, shivering as she spoke. She moved the ice pack to her back and then picked up her fairly hot teacup, delicately taking a sip of it. Despite its delicious blend of flavors, the tea didn't completely make her feel better – although it was warming her up quite a bit. Delia noticed the rather sad look on Brooke's face and decided to speak up.

"You still feel bad about what happened to Brock, huh?" she safely assumed. She knew that it was bothering Brooke, since it was obvious by her expression.

"Yeah, I do," Brooke replied. "Matter of fact, if you want to know the truth…I still blame myself for that." Everybody else in the room changed their expressions from unease to confusion. Delia and Misty even lightly gasped.

"How can you blame yourself for something like that?" Misty asked as if she was appalled by the idea. "That storm was beyond your control."

"That may be true, but there were certain circumstances I could have handled better." Brooke stared into her tea to gather her thoughts. "First of all, I could have just held onto the stern rails tighter to avoid slamming into the cabin door the way I did – although I must say that I saved Misty and Keith from being exposed to the storm. Second, I probably should have just retreated into the cabin instead of staying out on the deck, even though I didn't want to leave Brock out in the storm by himself. Third, when I called to him to reach for one of the supporting pillars, he made a dash, and that's when he fell overboard. If I had just kept my mouth shut, he could have just held onto the rails, and the whole incident would have been avoided.

"However, since that wasn't the case, I had to do something to help, even if my decision wasn't all that rational. Thinking back on the situation, I could have easily sent out Floatzel to retrieve him, but knowing what happened I wouldn't have done that out of fear of being separated from Brock and Floatzel. Instead I dove after him with only the floatation ring and the rope, despite the protests from Misty and Keith. At that point I set aside all concern for my own safety and instead focused on saving him. As reckless as that was, it turned out to be the only other choice I had. Anyway, my point is that he could have died because of me."

"What?" Tracey blurted, suddenly getting worked up by her words. "That's preposterous! There's no way that—"

"Calm yourself, Tracey," Oak intervened, raising a hand as he sipped his tea. "Anyway, Brooke, I can't blame you for the way you must feel about the situation with this storm. A life-or-death situation can cause someone to act spontaneously. However, that's in the past now. Even if you could have handled the situation differently, you still did the right thing in my opinion. You're both alive, and that's what matters."

"You're right, Professor," Brooke replied as she took another sip of her tea. "I shouldn't worry about it so much, although there is something else that still irks me. Did anyone else besides me think that storm was unnatural?" The question really sparked some contemplation among the others.

"Now that you mention it, I did notice the odd formation of the clouds," Keith answered as he recalled his memory of the storm.

"That's exactly my point! When I looked at those storm clouds, I saw that they formed much too rapidly for anything natural. The storm came in way too quickly to be normal, not to mention that nothing was indicated from the weather forecast that I checked this morning."

"Are you saying that something or someone could have caused this storm to randomly form in the first place?" Delia inquired incredulously.

"It certainly is a possibility, but—" A ring interrupted her. "Oh, hang on a second." She whipped out her phone that she retrieved a while ago and checked it. A message was sent to her right at that moment. She read it aloud. "'Turn on the news; there is a report you must see'…that's strange, what could that—" A second message came up. "'The storm'…Oak, can you turn on the news? There's a report on the storm!" Oak immediately turned the TV on and switched it to a news channel that happened to be Brooke's favorite. Everyone in the room fell quiet as a male reporter appeared on the screen, standing with a microphone right in the midst of the very same storm in another location.

"We have breaking news for you live in Baltimore, Maryland!" the reporter yelled through the loud winds. "A massive tropical storm has hit the Atlantic Coast without warning! That's right, folks! This storm did not appear on anyone's radar until _after _it formed! As you can see behind me, the storm continues to rage on with high speed winds, raging seawaters, heavy rains, and some massive thunderstorms! Again, no one knows how this storm came about, and no one is sure when it will recede, but one thing is for sure: we're in for a rough night! Oh…wait a minute…" The reporter listened to his earpiece. "I just received more breaking news! The cause of the storm has been found! The President of Brazil and Super Supremacy Leader Raimundo Salvatoré ordered his Lugia to summon the tropical storm as punishment against a mass raid by Atlantic pirates! He said, quote: 'Anyone who wishes to do wrong to the world shall be punished by the just powers of the Pokémon deities!' He went on to say that the storm would subside soon! Reporting live from Baltimore, I'm Hale Stone!"

Oak turned the TV off, and the room fell quiet once again.

"So Lugia caused this storm?" Tracey asked. Oak nodded. "If Salvatoré wanted to bring those pirates to justice, why didn't he just let the navy do it? He probably caused more harm than good by doing what he did." Brooke couldn't agree more. She tightened her grip on the teacup to the brink of shattering, and she clenched her teeth while she contemplated the matter.

_I knew it! _She told herself. _Something was definitely off about the weather. This is the second time the Supremacy has nearly ruined my life – or, in this case, nearly ended it. I don't know what his idea of 'justice' is, but it certainly doesn't mean risking innocent lives just to achieve it._ During the time she pondered to herself, her tea became lukewarm. She gulped down the rest of it and set the teacup onto the coffee table rather roughly.

"Are you okay?" Delia asked her gently. Brooke seemed to ignore her as she stood up, but then she spoke up.

"I'm fine. Please excuse me; I'll be back later." She tightened the blanket around her and briskly left the room, leaving the others to wonder about her.

"What's wrong with her?" Keith inquired. "She just left the room with barely a word, and she didn't look too happy."

"I think I know," Misty answered. "She's angry at the Supremacy again. When she realized the cause of the storm, she let her grudge take over. I can only guess that she's trying to vent some of that frustration by herself, not wanting to hurt someone else out of her own anger."

"If what Misty said is true, then we should just leave Brooke alone for a while and let her come to us when she's ready," Oak advised. "It's for the best, after all." Delia simply heaved a sad sigh.

Meanwhile Brooke traveled up a few flights of stairs to the third floor. She searched each of the rooms for a vacant bed on which she could just collapse, but instead of finding that, she came across a room with a bed that was occupied by someone in particular: Brock.

She abandoned the idea of solitary reflection and instead chose to check on him. Thus, she peered inside before carefully entering the room. The aforementioned Pokémon breeder remained unconscious, even as Brooke briskly but quietly walked along the carpeted floor. She pulled up a chair and sat next to his bed.

"Hey, Brock?" she spoke up just enough so that her voice was audible, but she received no response. "Still out cold, eh?" She relaxed a bit after confirming his unconsciousness, since she didn't want to disturb him if he was simply sleeping. Not really knowing what to do at this point, she just let her thoughts spill from her lips. "Well, I have news for you: I found out the cause of the storm. Do you know Raimundo Salvatoré, President of Brazil and Super Supremacy leader? Yeah, he ordered his Lugia to summon that storm. And to do what? Bring Atlantic pirates to justice. Justice! That is such crap; he could have handled that way better, but instead he put innocent lives in danger, including ours." She sighed heavily. Her eyes looked around before they focused on the features of Brock's face. Judging by his appearance, she believed that he felt at ease, even out of consciousness – this put her thought-process into overdrive as she continued to contemplate the day's events, the news report, the possibility that they would not have been alive at that moment, and the probability that Brock was not the least bit bothered by any of it compared to her.

_I'm going to give myself a nasty headache if I keep thinking about that stuff like this_, she told herself. Speaking of headache, she had to check to make sure that what Tracey said earlier was the truth. She leaned towards Brock and placed the back of her hand against his forehead. It didn't feel warm at all; matter of fact it was about as cold as her hands. "My God, Brock, are you still frozen?" She didn't understand how several layers of blankets were doing nothing to warm him up, even after resting in that bed for a while. The only two possibilities that made sense were the fact that 1) the temperature of the room was too low, and 2) he was still soaked.

She left her chair and checked the thermostat that was right outside the room. It read seventy degrees Fahrenheit. It was too cold for her, but she didn't know if that was comfortable for him. Regardless, she surreptitiously increased the temperature by three degrees before re-entering the room. The next thing she checked was the bed itself. She noticed that the sheets and the blankets were a bit damp. For what reason, she had no idea – until she pulled back the blankets and found the cause.

"What the—what were Tracey and Keith thinking, leaving Brock in his sopping wet clothes?! At this rate he'll likely get pneumonia!" The men didn't bother to dress him into some dry clothes (considering his state of consciousness), so she told herself that the two had no common sense. However, as she scorned their poor judgment, she noticed something else at the edge of her vision.

_Did…did his hand just twitch?_ She asked herself as her eyes widened a bit and stared at the hand in question. She saw this as a sign that Brock was regaining consciousness, if ever so slowly. His hand twitched again, and, without even thinking about it, she slipped her hand into his own and firmly gripped it. At the same time she carefully watched for any change in his facial features.

"Brock, can you hear me?" She waited for a response. After a few seconds, she saw his brows scrunch and his jaw clench, and she heard the faintest exhaled breath leave his lips. Finally, his dark eyes creaked open as she uttered his name for a second time. She was practically in his face making eye contact with him when his eyes fully opened.


	4. Quite the Wake Up Call

Author's Notes: Hello, awesome readers! I come to you from the distant future to bring you another chapter! Okay, not really, but I am updating today. I'm sorry for the lack of updates in two months. A lot has happened since the last update. A) schoolwork and my part-time job (not surprising). B) Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver came out last month, so obviously I put some time into playing those games. C) Tekkoshocon VIII took place last weekend, so I had to prepare for and attend the con. I had a great time running around in my new Team Aqua cosplay, and of course doing so made me think of you guys, the awesome readers/Pokefans! So this is my gift to you for being so awesome.

In this chapter the plot doesn't advance all that much (if at all), but character development does occur. Two characters in particular share a few - how do I word this - sentimental scenes, but nothing really comes of it (at this point). The plot will really get going next chapter, but for now enjoy this light and fluffy chapter. :D

Disclaimer: I still don't own Pokemon. If I did, they'd be real.

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Chapter 3: Quite the Wake-Up Call

Brooke was the first thing he saw when his vision cleared. Brock was rather surprised by how close her face was to his, and that startled him a bit. Realizing what she was doing (a little too late), Brooke quickly let go of his hand and backed away to give Brock some space.

"Oh my God, you're awake!" Brooke blurted suddenly. Brock looked at her and thought she was having a panic attack. "Don't move; I'll be right back!" She dashed out of the room, leaving her blanket and a very confused Brock. He didn't even have the chance to say anything to her, thus he sighed in defeat.

Brooke quickly made her way down a few flights of stairs and into the living area. Delia had just placed another tray of fresh tea onto the coffee table as she approached them.

"I'll take this, thank you very much; be right back!" Brooke said all of this as she delicately picked up a teacup and some sugar cubes and quickly but carefully left the room before anyone could say anything to her.

"What's going on now?" Tracey inquired as he and the others simply blinked.

"I guess she likes my tea," Delia teased as she giggled lightly, despite the fact that Brooke had left them all rather dumbfounded.

Meanwhile Brooke made her way up to the third floor – after nearly tripping on the stairs – and into Brock's room. She stopped inside the doorway and took the time to catch her breath. Of course, Brock wondered what she did a minute ago that left her breathless.

"I brought you some tea," she answered the question he was about to ask. "I…" she stopped herself as she noticed something different about Brock. He was sitting upright in his bed, but he was wearing nothing on his upper body. The sight of his bare chest and back bore into her brain at that moment. She hadn't realized before exactly how Brock looked without a shirt. Her mouth hung open slightly and her cheeks turned pink as she stood there, staring at him, almost forgetting about the tea. However, she shook her head to return to reality and walked over to the bed to hand the teacup to Brock, who gratefully accepted it. "So, how are you feeling?" She had to start a conversation immediately to avert her embarrassment.

"Well, I'm cold, I'm still soaked, and my body feels like it's been battered by ten thousand sandbags, but otherwise I think I'm fine," he replied, tasting the tea. Brooke wasn't sure if he noticed her previous nonverbal expression or if he had simply ignored it, but at least he didn't ask about it. "Wow, this is delicious! Did you make this?"

"No, that was Delia's concoction," she admitted. "I have to agree that it is good tea, though. Anyway, that ought to warm you up, but you should also find some dry clothes and better blankets. I took the liberty of raising the room temperature a bit; I'm rather cold as well. By the way, do you plan on getting some rest? I do, anyway." She really needed to stop rambling.

"Yeah, I guess I will; after that storm, we'll both need it." Brooke nodded before she took her blanket and left the room to give Brock some privacy. The latter sighed and shivered as the former left his sights.

_What even happened? _Brock asked himself. _I remember being caught in the middle of a bad storm and falling overboard. The next thing I know I wake up in a bed, and Brooke's right in my face. Speaking of Brooke, I think she was the one who saved me from the storm. If that's the case, I need to thank her._ As he thought about what exactly he wanted to say to her, he proceeded to change into some dry clothes, find some fresh blankets, and then get some quality rest.

Meanwhile Brooke idly walked down the hall and down the stairs to the first floor, keeping the blanket tightly wrapped around her as she did so. She just so happened to have seen Misty walking in her direction and decided to talk to her.

"Oh hi," the redhead responded after receiving a greeting from Brooke. "Since you're here, I might as well ask: for what reason did you burst into the room to take a teacup and then run away again?" After remembering what exactly Misty was addressing, Brooke showed a 'really, did I do that?' kind of expression on her face.

"Oh, that wasn't for me," she answered. "It turns out that Brock finally came to a few minutes ago."

"Wait, you mean he's conscious?" Brooke nodded. "That's great news! We should tell the others."

"I guess, but we should also warn them not to disturb him for a while; he took my advice and decided to take another rest, and this time I mean 'rest' not 'remain out cold'. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, you're right. Well, let's go find the others." Misty and Brooke proceeded to search the villa interior for the other guests. Brooke told Misty that as soon as they delivered the news that she would also take a nap. After all, she was still cold and sore.

The two girls eventually found the others standing before a wall of glass panels that were – at the moment – coated with rainwater, as the storm hadn't let up just yet. They were staring out into the gray overcast that was the afternoon sky before they turned their attention to Misty and Brooke. The two decided amongst themselves who would break the news, and then Brooke spoke up. The words that left her mouth almost caught the others off guard.

"Oh, that's wonderful that he's finally awake!" Delia made the first rational – and probably more grateful – response.

"It really is, although he asked us to leave him be and let him rest for a while, if that's alright." Brooke was careful to add this detail. She then felt a light tug at her pant leg. She looked down to see a yellow mouse Pokémon, the Pikachu that happened to be accompanying Delia. "Oh, what's up, Pikachu?" The mouse was trying to tell her something, but she had little idea what it was trying to say. Pikachu resorted to waving around its small arms to make gestures and signs that would likely be readable. Misty finally figured it out and paraphrased its message.

"Are you saying that you want to stay with Brock for now?" she asked. Pikachu nodded, pleased with Misty's understanding of its nonverbal communication.

"Well, I suppose that's okay," Brooke replied. "Pikachu can keep watch over him."

"That's a good idea," Delia agreed. She then crouched to Pikachu's height and spoke face to face with the mouse. "Okay, Pikachu, you head upstairs and find Brock. Stay with him, and make sure he's okay. If he needs anything, or if anything goes wrong, then you come find one of us, okay?" Pikachu nodded and then scurried up the stairs and out of sight.

"You know, I think I'm going to follow Pikachu," Brooke mentioned as she yawned. "I'll find a vacant room and take a nap."

"Oh, matter of fact, we set up a room for you already," Oak finally spoke up. "Your room just so happens to be across from Brock's room and next to Misty's. Is that okay?"

"Oh yeah, that's fine with me. Now, if you'll excuse me…" she trailed off as she walked away, muttering only an unclear 'nap time'. She made her way up to the third floor and into the room that Oak indicated, eagerly diving onto the bed with a relieved sigh and drifting off to sleep.

"Hello?" someone called, knocking on the door. Brooke tried to ignore it, considering that she didn't want to wake up from her nap. Then she heard another knock and gave up.

"Hang on a second," she said in a rather lethargic tone as she put forth the effort to make herself leave the bed. When she lazily opened the door, she was caught by surprise when she saw the very person she hadn't expected to see. "Oh…hi, Brock. When did you wake up?"

"I've been awake for a while now," he answered nonchalantly. "Professor Oak said you were resting up here, but you've been in here for over three hours, so I decided to check on you."

"Three hours? Wow, I guess I over-napped again. What time is it, anyway?"

"It's almost sunset, although you can't really tell with the storm clouds covering the sky."

"Wait, that storm is still out there?" She walked to the window in her room to look outside. Brock followed suit. "Geez, it has to end sometime soon. Salvatoré must have been pissed if it's still going on."

"Wait, what did you say?" He looked at her as if she had broken a vow of silence. Brooke didn't understand why Brock seemed so confused by her statement – until she realized that she hadn't _actually _explained the whole story to him. She remembered talking about it while he was unconscious and forgot to truly explain everything to him after the fact.

"Oh…yeah, I should clarify that," she finally said. She proceeded to explain the back-story to him – everything that occurred since the storm began and up to the point when Brock regained consciousness. When she finished her explanation, Brock didn't really know what to say to that, considering how much he just heard and how it all rattled his brain.

"So what you're saying is that Salvatoré caused this storm for the sake of justice?" he paraphrased. Brooke nodded in response. "That is the most outrageous thing I have ever heard."

"Exactly! I said the same thing when I first heard the report. It makes me sick knowing that he put innocent lives at risk by doing what he did. I still wonder how many others could have been endangered or killed as a result. You know what's worse? It's the fact that he used Lugia to do just that. Lugia! I call that corrupt and despicable."

"I couldn't agree with you more. I've said this before: the Supremacy should leave the Pokémon out of it. Using them to enforce their already vile policies makes them much worse. Unfortunately, it's the worst crime they commit for which they won't answer."

"Brock, I couldn't have said it better myself," she replied, impressed with his last statement. "This incident has put me one step closer towards my desire to act against the Supremacy. The only problem is that the consequences are so severe that I don't know if the outcome of my actions would be worth losing my freedom." Brock wasn't sure what to say in response to this, either. He gathered his thoughts, trying to come up with some good advice. He, like Brooke, was caught between his rational sense of judgment and his desire to liberate the human/Pokémon world from the corrupt world government.

"Here's what I think," he finally stated, turning to look directly into her sapphire eyes. "You shouldn't let this matter bother you too much right now. For now, just relax, and give it some thought. Then, when you've really weighed your options, you should do what your heart tells you. If you make the decision to take the ultimate risk, then I'll support you every step of the way. I'm sure Misty will support you, too." It took a long moment for Brooke to absorb everything he just said, but when she did, she felt more grateful for her friends than she did before. She gazed into his onyx eyes, which radiated with sincerity, and spoke up.

"You're right, Brock, thank you. This is why you and Misty are my friends. So, I'll give this matter some thought; we have lots of time, I think. Anyway, let's join the others downstairs, shall we?" Brock accepted her suggestion and joined her as they left the room. However, Brock stopped just outside the door while Brooke took notice of this.

"Hey, what is it, Brock?" she asked. He turned to face her again.

"I meant to say this to you before," he answered, trying to find the rights words. She listened carefully, wondering what he had to say. "I…thank you for saving me. I really appreciate it." Brooke took his words to heart and grinned.

"You're welcome," she replied. "It's the least I could do for you." Brock felt more at ease after he properly thanked her for her selfless deed. With that said they proceeded down to the first floor to see the others.

Of course, little did they know that Misty was eyeing them carefully from her doorway. She had heard the last part of their conversation and saw how they acted in response to each other's words. With the tiniest smile she silently expressed her delight.


	5. Fun and Games Until Someone Gets Hurt

Author's Notes: I have good news and bad news (that doesn't really affect you guys, but whatever). The good news is that I finished my spring semester of college. Yay! The bad news is that I only get eight more days of break before I have to start a summer class again. Boo...anyway, so because of these circumstances, I decided to write at least one more chapter for you guys before I begin to busy myself for the next three months. I still manage to write between schoolwork and my job, of course. Oh, and this time it took me less than a month to update. New record? I have no idea; I can't even remember.

So, this chapter is a bit long compared to my other chapters, and it does seem a bit filler-ish at the start, but the plot begins to pick up speed towards the end. Oh, and this chapter introduces the Pokemon that the main characters use, especially Brooke's (being an OC and all). You'll see that I changed up some of the Pokemon that Misty and Brock carry in order to fit aspect from older seasons of the anime as well as my personal tastes (basically, the Pokemon they should have based on what they already have or had). By the way, there is one Pokemon introduced here to which you ought to pay close attention; it will serve as one of the most important Pokemon to the plot from this point forward. With that all said, enjoy the chapter!

I still don't own Pokemon. Too bad they are not real...

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Chapter 4: It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Gets Hurt

The following morning turned out to be a nice surprise for the guests of the villa. The storm had finally passed, and only clear skies stretched as far as the eye could see. This meant that it was safe for Keith to take his boat out into the open waters. He mentioned that he had to leave to attend to other business and that he would be back to give the others a ride back to the mainland in a few days. The others bid him farewell as he sailed towards the horizon.

"What a relief! We can finally have a real vacation!" Misty exclaimed as they walked back up to the villa. She was incredibly excited that the weather was beautiful again, and she was eager to enjoy herself for the rest of the week.

"I agree! There's nothing to worry about now!" Brooke added joyfully. Brock observed the girls and beamed. He was happy to see them in much better spirits. Brooke especially appeared to be more relaxed and cheery since yesterday. Delia, Oak, and Tracey also noticed their moods and approved.

"Oh, it's so nice to see the kids enjoying themselves, isn't it?" Delia commented. Oak nodded in agreement.

"I'll bet they have plenty of things planned for the week," Tracey mentioned. Oak slowed his pace in order to walk next to Tracey.

"Why don't you join those three and have some fun?" Oak suggested. "It will be good for you to spend your free time with your peers. Delia and I will be fine without your assistance for a day or two." Tracey was rather caught off guard by Oak's words, but he gladly accepted the suggestion anyway.

"Thank you very much, Professor!" he expressed his gratitude before he ran ahead to catch up with Misty and friends. Oak resorted to walking alongside Delia as they reached the top of the stairway.

The teens had many ideas for what they could do on the island, and choosing what to do first was a tough job. Being the Water-Pokémon lover of the group, Misty suggested going swimming, but Brooke vetoed that idea, mentioning with a groan that she had already done enough swimming yesterday. Brock agreed and suggested instead that they explore the grounds of the villa. Tracey liked that idea better and added that they could let out their Pokémon to play. The girls agreed, and so everyone, including Delia and Oak, made their way to the courtyard in the back of the villa.

The courtyard resembled more of a huge open field and consisted of grass, sand, some trees, and a pool of water. The teens happened to have their Pokémon with them, and so they let them all out at once.

Misty let out her extensive group of Water Pokémon in the vicinity of the pool. Her Gyarados, Corsola, Kingdra, and Starmie swam in the water while her Golduck and Politoed sat at the water's edge.

Brock let out all of his Pokémon near the sand. Already his Steelix, Golem, and Forretress began to play in the sand. Swampert dove into the pool, Crobat took to the skies, and Toxicroak stayed by Brock's side.

Tracey let out his lesser extent of Pokémon as well. His Marill chose to swim, while Venonat and Scyther reclined under palm trees.

Finally, Brooke let out her Pokémon, some of which a few of the guests hadn't seen before, into the grassy field. Floatzel joined the other Water Pokémon in the pool. Rhyperior and Garchomp joined Brock's Steelix, Golem, and Forretress in the sand, Infernape climbed one of the palm trees, while Luxray invited Pikachu (who followed the group) to play chase with it. Brooke's favorite Pokémon, Gallade, remained at her side.

For some reason Gallade eyed Toxicroak carefully. The Toxicroak shuddered in response to seeing his rather intimidating gaze. Their respective trainers noticed this right away and sighed. They suspected that these Fighting-type Pokémon had declared each other as rivals. Toxicroak saw Gallade as a threat due its double disadvantage to the Blade Pokémon in a battle (at least, under normal circumstances). Gallade, on the other hand, viewed Toxicroak as a formidable Fighting-type Pokémon like himself and vowed to someday defeat the Toxic Mouth Pokémon in a one-to-one battle – as they had never had the chance to battle beforehand (even when the two trainers would spar).

"Hey guys, relax," Brock spoke up to the two Pokémon. "We're here to have fun, not to fight each other." Toxicroak immediately calmed itself in response to Brock's words, but Gallade remained rigid and skeptical until he saw Brooke's firm expression.

"That's much better," Brooke said. "Now go on and play or do whatever you wish." Toxicroak took her advice and hopped away to join Pikachu and Luxray. Gallade, however, didn't move an inch. Brooke sighed again, while Brock chuckled.

"It looks like your Gallade doesn't want to leave you," he commented with his hands on his hips. The Blade Pokémon nodded.

"Well then, if that's the case, then you might as well join us," she addressed Gallade and motioned a hand towards Brock and herself. The Pokémon gave a small smile and uttered his name. "Alright, come on." Brooke decided to rejoin Misty and Tracey, both of whom had walked off earlier, while Brock and Gallade obediently followed her.

"Hey! Think fast!" Misty shouted before bumping a beach ball towards Brooke. She flinched and was about to hit it, but Gallade instinctively reacted and blocked the ball, letting it drop to the ground. Brooke just blinked, while Misty groaned.

"Aww man, your Gallade ruined the surprise!" she complained. Tracey and Brock just laughed, while Brooke picked up the beach ball.

"Hey, it's not his fault," she replied before turning to her Pokémon. "Hey, thanks for the help, but Misty was just playing around." She bounced the ball on Gallade's arm before bouncing it on her head. "You see? It's harmless, and it's fun. Come on, guys! Let's all play!" She kicked the ball to Tracey, and he hit it over to Brock. Gallade began to catch on to what they were doing and joined them. The teens and the Pokémon bounced the beach ball to each other while trying not to let it drop to the ground. They all laughed at Tracey when he did – out of good fun, of course.

Meanwhile Delia and Oak observed the teens and the group of Pokémon from a pair of lawn chairs while they drank lemonade that Delia had made earlier. They expressed delight when they saw how much they all were enjoying themselves.

"Would you look at that?" Delia mused as she leaned back in her chair. "The Pokémon look so happy right now. Pikachu is especially having the time of its life."

"I agree," Oak replied. "And it's not just the Pokémon that are getting a well-deserved break; we're all taking advantage of a vacation that was needed. Even if it didn't start out that well, this vacation is definitely turning better." They continued to look on at the Pokémon that relaxed and had fun.

One Pokémon in particular was interrupted by a certain beach ball. Rhyperior discovered that the ball dropped onto its horn and popped. It hung in a deflated mess on the horn. The teens approached Rhyperior and groaned in defeat.

"Well, I guess that's the end of that beach ball," Tracey commented. "I knew Misty hit it too far."

"Oh sure, blame it on me, why don't ya!" Misty was practically fuming to the point that Brock had to calm her down.

"Hey, relax; it's nobody's fault that it happened to land on Rhyperior's horn," he said to her. The Drill Pokémon looked at them with an apologetic expression, but Brooke removed the deflated beach ball from its horn and assured that it didn't do anything wrong.

"Well, what are we going to do now?" Brooke inquired. She then looked off to the side and saw a crate full of recreation items. She ran over to it and rummaged through it before she finally found a football. "Hey, who wants to play some pigskin?" The others expressed their approval, while some of the other Pokémon turned their attention to her shouting.

After a few minutes the group set up a makeshift football game with Brooke's team of Pokémon against Misty's team. Tracey and Brock served as the referees. Steelix and Gyarados turned themselves into makeshift goalposts.

"You're going down, Misty," Brooke said to her as they assumed play positions and faced each other.

"Try me," Misty replied. Her team had possession of the ball as Golem hiked the ball to her. The Pokémon of opposing teams tackled each other as Misty looked for an opening. She threw the ball to Golduck, and it took off as fast as it could. Garchomp, however, caught up to it and brought it to the ground. They tried the play again, and Misty threw it to Politoed, who actually got away from Toxicroak and scored a touchdown.

"Yeah, go Politoed!" Misty cheered as it performed a victory dance. The teams assumed positions for a field goal kick. Scyther readied the ball as Misty kicked it into the Steelix goalpost. Tracey and Brock gave the 'it's good' sign, which scored Misty's team an extra point.

During the whole game several other Pokémon formed cheering squads. Venonat and the Water Pokémon, of course, cheered for Misty's team, while Pikachu got Rhyperior, Luxray and the rest of Brock's Pokémon to cheer for Brooke's team.

It was Brooke's turn to score some points. As Misty's team made the kickoff, Infernape caught the ball and tried to run it through to the other side. It almost made it until Swampert knocked it down. The teams assumed positions again, and Floatzel hiked the ball to Brooke.

"Go long!" she yelled as she threw the ball to Gallade, who caught it and ran all the way into the endzone, scoring a touchdown for her team. "Yes, Gallade, you rock!" The Blade Pokémon look pleased, even though he cheered in silence. The teams set up for another field goal kick to tie the game. Garchomp readied the ball as Brooke kicked it through the Gyarados goalpost. Again, Tracey and Brock indicated that the kick was good, and Brooke's team scored an extra point.

Unfortunately, the ball flew so far over Gyarados that it actually went down the hill and into the jungle of trees. The others looked in that direction and expressed their displeasure at losing the ball.

"Oops, my bad; I'll go get it!" Brooke said as she took off in the direction of the football. Gallade went after her, while the others just stood there and stared after her.

"Is it a good idea for her to be going into that jungle?" Tracey asked Brock. He simply shrugged, not really sure of the right answer to his question. After all, it was too late to stop her.

Some time had passed, and Brooke still had no luck in finding the football. The tangled mess of jungle plants wasn't exactly helping her cause. Fortunately, Gallade managed to catch up to her by using his elbow blades as machetes to cut down the foliage.

"Oh, hey there," she said as she noticed him. "Any sign of that football?" Gallade shook his head in response. "I'll take that as a 'no'. Well, I guess we should keep looking, although it has been ten minutes." They advanced forward, this time using Gallade's elbow blades to their advantage. Brooke had a much easier time getting through the plants.

The Blade Pokémon suddenly stopped in his tracks and stared into space. Brooke halted behind him, wondering why he just stopped.

"Hey, what's going on?" she asked, expressing mild concern. "Why aren't you moving?" Gallade remained silent and carefully studied his environment with his psychic powers.

"_I sense a strong presence of another Pokémon_," he said to her telepathically. "_Follow me_." Gallade then took off without warning in another direction, hacking and slashing at the foliage faster than Brooke's eyes could follow.

"Hey, wait for me!" she yelled after her Pokémon as she ran after him (completely forgetting about the football). Despite the path being cleared for her, she still had a tough time trying to keep up with the Blade Pokémon. "Where are you going?" After several yards Gallade finally came to a stop in a small clearing. Brooke finally caught up to him and skidded to a stop. She took a minute to catch her breath, feeling like she had just run for several miles. "Hey, what exactly is here that you just had to show me?" Gallade retracted his blades and pointed to the target of his attention. Brooke looked up and stared in wonder.

Resting upon a tree stump was a lonely Pokémon egg. The egg had a white, green, gold, and gray color scheme to it, and it seemed to radiate an aura of sheer majesty. Brooke stepped closer to further investigate it.

"_That is no ordinary Pokémon egg_," Gallade explained. "_There's an all-powerful Pokémon contained inside the shell_." Brooke wondered what Gallade meant by that. She had never seen an egg that looked like this one, nor did she recall any Pokémon with this particular color scheme.

_All-powerful?_ Brooke thought. _What kind of Pokémon could be inside? Wait a minute…could it be? But that's impossible! _She suspected that this egg could possibly have contained a legendary Pokémon, but then she remembered that all of them were already captured and in the possession of the Supremacy, so she declared her idea incorrect – unless there was one Pokémon that the Supremacy could have missed.

She gingerly placed her hands around the egg and picked it up, continuing to stare at it in wonder. The egg seemed to radiate even more from her touch. Before she could ask herself why that was the case, something else happened.

"_Brooke, look out!_" Gallade shouted as he dashed in front of her and stopped a surprise attack from an Arbok that appeared out of nowhere. Brooke barely figured out what just happened except that Gallade used Protect to repel the Cobra Pokémon's assault. She was left rather stunned and almost dropped the egg.

The Arbok got up and regrouped before it glared at its supposed target. Brooke had no idea why it would just randomly attack her, but Gallade remembered that Arbok would occasionally eat Pokémon eggs as part of its diet. The only other possible explanation was that they might have stepped into its territory. Before they could do anything else, they heard shuffling from the foliage.

The situation became worse as two other angry Pokémon emerged from the plants. A Nidoqueen and a Drapion stood on either side of the Arbok and also expressed intimidating looks.

"Oh crap, a gang attack," Brooke muttered, still holding the egg. Gallade defensively stood between her and the poison Pokémon and unleashed his elbow blades. "Wait, you're not going to fight all three of them, are you?"

"_Take the egg and run!_" Gallade ordered. "_I'll hold them off until you escape!_" Brooke had no choice but to listen to her own Pokémon this time. She took off with the egg before the poison Pokémon could strike. She saw Gallade charging at them before all four of them were out of sight.

Brooke tried to retrace her steps, but getting through the foliage again was troublesome, as some of the plants had covered up their original path. Before she went any further, she heard distinct battle sounds from behind her. To her dismay she heard a piercing cry of pain from Gallade, which caused her to call out to it very loudly.

Meanwhile, back at the courtyard Brock heard shouting echoing from the jungle hill. He turned in that direction and tried to figure out who shouted at that moment.

"What is it, Brock?" Misty asked him.

"I think he heard something," Tracey answered for him. "I did, too." It finally clicked in Brock's head whose voice that was.

"Brooke's in trouble!" Brock cried. "Gallade might be, too! Let's go, Toxicroak!" Brock took off towards the direction of her voice as the Toxic Mouth Pokémon followed closely behind him. Misty and Tracey were about to protest, but it was too late to stop him.

"What is all the commotion?" Oak asked as he and Delia approached the two of them.

"Brock just took off into the jungle!" Misty answered in distress.

"Brooke has been gone for a while, and he heard her shouting, so he ran after her," Tracey explained the situation to them in a more rational tone. Oak and Delia both gasped in shock.

"They might be in danger. Should we go after them?" Delia inquired with concern.

"No, that will only make the situation worse," Oak answered. "Besides, I saw Toxicroak following Brock; they should be fine, and they'll make sure that Brooke and Gallade are okay as well." The others stood in silence, hoping that Professor Oak was right.

Brock slowly but surely made his way through the foliage as Toxicroak kept up with him. He had no idea where exactly Brooke was or if he would find her until he managed to run into her halfway into the jungle. She stopped and breathed heavily as he held her shoulders, not even taking any notice of the egg she held.

"Brooke, are you alright?" he asked immediately. Brooke caught her breath and looked up at him.

"I'm exhausted and a little startled, but I'm fine," she replied quickly. "Gallade is still down there, and he's in the middle of a battle with three poison Pokémon! Brock, you have to help him!" She pointed in the direction from which she ran.

"Okay, you stay here. I'll go get him. Come on, Toxicroak!" Brock took off again as he and Toxicroak left her to sit in the same spot where she stopped.

Brock eventually found Gallade, who was still caught in battle with the Arbok, Nidoqueen, and Drapion. None of them appeared weakened in the slightest, despite Gallade's type advantage, but the Blade Pokémon had taken heavy damage from the gang attacks. Brock tended to Gallade while Toxicroak stepped into battle.

"Use Mud Shot!" he issued a command. Toxicroak obeyed and fired a powerful stream of mud from its mouth. The shot hit Drapion head on and blasted it away, while Arbok was merely grazed. It and the Nidoqueen still tried to advance towards Gallade. "Sucker Punch!" Toxicroak hopped around them and punched both Pokémon from behind. The Arbok took a punch to the head and was conked out, but the Nidoqueen shook off the damage. Brock was running out of options, and the situation seemed hopeless – that is, until Gallade managed to unleash one final Psycho Cut at the Nidoqueen before passing out completely. The energy blade hit Nidoqueen square in the face and knocked it down. Toxicroak punched it again for good measure.

Brock sighed in relief, knowing that the battle was won. There was just one problem: Gallade was still injured. He briefly checked the wounds and saw many poison marks on Gallade's shoulder and chest. Realizing the severity of his condition, Brock knew he didn't have much time. He picked up the Blade Pokémon, slung him over his shoulder and dashed in the opposite direction. Toxicroak, again, followed closely behind him. They eventually regrouped with Brooke, who saw how beat-up Gallade was and gasped in shock.

"What happened?" she asked as they immediately took off towards the top of the hill.

"Well, the good news is that we defeated those Pokémon," he answered as he ran. "The bad news is that Gallade became injured and poisoned in the process. There isn't much time; we have to take him to Professor Oak!" Brooke agreed in silence as they made their way to the top of the hill.

Upon seeing the two of them emerge from the jungle hill, the others expressed mixed feelings of relief – since they had returned safely – and concern. They gasped at the sight of the battered Pokémon.

"Brooke, what happened, and what is that you're holding?" Misty asked as she and Tracey approached them.

"I'll explain that later," she answered. "Gallade's been injured, and he needs an antidote to cure the poison."

"Poison? How did that happen?" Tracey retorted.

"A gang of Poison Pokémon assaulted him, even though he tried his best to repulse them," Brock briefly explained the situation. Oak and Delia approached them and further examined the Blade Pokémon.

"This looks bad," Oak stated. "He needs medical attention right away. Hurry!" Oak motioned to Brock to follow him while carrying Gallade. The others followed them inside the building. Oak wasted no time in finding his first-aid kit. As Brock placed Gallade on the nearest sofa, Oak opened the kit and rummaged through it, pulling out an Antidote, some Potions, and a roll of bandages.

Tracey and the girls looked on with concern as they watched Brock and Oak patch up Gallade's wounds. Oak sprayed the poison marks and other wounds with the Antidote and Potions, while Brock wrapped the wounds with the bandages.

"There, that ought to do it," Oak declared, wiping sweat from his brow. Everyone else sighed with relief. "Gallade just needs to rest now, and he'll be fine in no time."

"Should we start calling you 'Doctor Oak'?" Misty joked, making Delia giggle.

"Misty is right," Delia said. "Even though there isn't a Pokémon Center around, you handled the problem with ease. I should have figured that you would come prepared with a fully equipped first-aid kit." Oak tried to be modest at this point, but he failed miserably. Tracey turned to face Brooke.

"What makes this better is that you and Brock are alright," he said to her. "I've got one question: what's with the Pokémon egg?" Brooke looked at the egg that she tightly held.

"Oh, this thing? I found it in a clearing within the jungle," she responded. "I don't know why it was there, but Gallade told me to take it with me, anyway. That's why he was battling those Pokémon: to give me enough time to escape with the egg. Whatever Pokémon is inside it must be important; at least, that's how Gallade implied it." This brief explanation of the egg only seemed to raise more questions that the others had, but they decided not to badger her about it for the time being. Brock decided to change the subject.

"Hey, I just remembered that we didn't have lunch yet," he mentioned. "Shall I cook up something special?" Everyone else in the room gladly accepted his offer. So, he retreated to the kitchen along with Delia, while the teens gathered all of their Pokémon together. Well, except Brooke, that is. She remained at her Pokémon's side while holding the egg. As concerned as he was, Oak decided to leave her be and join Misty and Tracey.

Meanwhile, back inside the jungle clearing the Poison Pokémon remained knocked out from the last battle. With some shuffling footsteps a person stepped out of the dense foliage and approached the Pokémon.

"So they got away, eh?" he said to no one in particular. "That's alright, we'll get them next time." He called back the Arbok, Nidoqueen, and Drapion, returning them into their Pokéballs. He then looked up towards the top of the hill. "Indeed, we'll get our hands on that egg, and then we'll make those punks pay for getting in our way, especially that one girl with the Gallade." With a rather malicious grin he chuckled to himself.


	6. Congratulations, Mother

Author's Notes: Hi readers! I know it's been a long time since the last chapter that I posted, but thanks to those of you who reviewed and messaged me recently; I felt inspired to continue the story and create another chapter. Here it is! Chapter 5! It looks like this story needs more readers. Maybe you guys can help by spreading the word. I'd much appreciate it, and it would motivate me to update this story even faster.

Oh, there is something I had to add. I know that Generation V Pokémon now exist, even though this story was started prior to this set of Pokémon. There may be a slight chance that I can and will include 5th Gen Pokémon, though the storyline will still focus on a certain older Pokémon. ;) Let me know what you guys think. Yes or no to 5th Gen Pokémon?

Anyway, I'll let you enjoy the chapter now.

Disclaimer: Pokémon belongs to Nintendo, Game Freak, the Pokémon Company, etc. Not me!

* * *

Chapter 5: Congratulations, Mother

"Hey guys! Lunch is served!" Everyone could hear Brock shouting from the kitchen window. He and Delia finished all preparations for lunch and proceeded to gather the Pokémon and their trainers. An outdoor luncheon sounded like the best idea, so Brock and Delia took the many dishes of food to the courtyard.

However, as they distributed the plethora of Pokémon food dishes to the Pokémon and served the many other exquisite dishes to everyone else, Brock noticed that one particular person was absent.

"She's probably still with her Gallade," Delia deduced. Realizing that Brooke would not come outside for that very reason, Brock decided to try something else. He took a plate of food with him and mentioned to Delia that he would return momentarily. Brock then proceeded inside the building and into the last place where he left her.

He briefly surveyed the scene before him, observing how Brooke kept watch over Gallade and simultaneously kept a tight hold on that Pokémon egg of hers. He also noticed that Gallade was still lying unconscious and breathing rather heavily. Brock decided that this was a good time to interrupt, so he fully entered the room and attracted her attention.

"I brought something for you," he said to her. Brooke turned to see Brock and noticed that he carried a plate of spaghetti in one hand and a Pecha Berry in the other hand, placing both onto the nearby coffee table. "How's Gallade?"

"He hasn't awakened yet," Brooke answered with a rather defeated sigh. "Even with the effects of the Antidote he still looks like he's suffering. Maybe it's not working."

"Well, if it's not working, this Pecha Berry should help. Just give it to him, and it will get rid of any poison that's left. You should eat, too."

"Thanks, Brock." She turned her gaze towards the Blade Pokémon again, but not before Brock noticed the rather sad look on her face. He was about to ask her what was wrong, but she spoke up first, as if she had read his mind. "What horrible luck I've had lately. I mean, have you noticed the number of mishaps that have occurred in two days? First you, and now Gallade…I just don't know why it always has to be me, why I always have to put up with everything that goes wrong. Maybe I'm bringing this upon myself; perhaps it's my fault." She sighed again, not really having much else to say – hell, she didn't even know if Brock was still listening to her, but of course, he was.

Brock, nonetheless, didn't want to see her sad, and he didn't want her to continue feeling guilty for everything. Once again he gathered up what he believed to be the right words of advice and approached her.

"Listen to me," he said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "You can't continue to beat yourself up like this. Everything that happened was beyond your control, and you did everything in your power to handle each situation properly. No one is blaming you for anything; not me, and certainly not Gallade. So cheer up and move on, okay? You'd be telling us the same thing; I know it." Brooke really had to consider what Brock just said, but she eventually just resorted to smiling. Something about his motivation speech made her feel a lot better, and she just couldn't resist showing it.

"You make a good point," she said. "Thanks, Brock. Oh, and if I act emo like that again, feel free to conk me on the head with a hammer, got it?" Brock couldn't help but laugh. He was amused by the way that Brooke always seemed to make such witty comments, but he also enjoyed seeing her smile.

"No problem. Anyway, I should head back outside. I'm assuming that you're still going to stay with Gallade, huh?" Brooke nodded. "Well, whenever you decide to join us, we'll be outside. Make sure Gallade fully recovers." With that said he turned and left the room, and Brooke directed her attention back to the Blade Pokémon.

After some time Brooke had finished the plate of food that Brock had given her (not really minding that it was merely lukewarm), while she left the Pecha Berry for Gallade. Despite the fact that she was still greatly concerned for him, she didn't feel as bad about his condition.

_Brock always gives such great advice_, she thought. _I wish I had that kind of talent_. Brooke inspected the bandaged wounds and checked Gallade's vitals. Fortunately his heavy breathing had declined significantly, and he seemed to be in less pain than before. _Now that I think about it, I should really just be grateful for Gallade's act of valor instead of blaming myself for the negative turn of events. After all, he fought to save me and, in turn, this egg from harm. _She then took hold of one of Gallade's hands while she looked down at the egg in question, still holding it tightly. _The best way to repay him for his courage is to take great care of this egg and see to it that it hatches into a healthy Pokémon – whatever it is_.

Suddenly the most remarkable thing happened. The egg radiated in her arms, giving off an intense, majestic glow that was brighter than before. This meant only one thing: the egg was about to hatch. Brooke placed the egg onto the coffee table and stood back, watching it carefully. In one blinding moment the eggshell seemed the shatter and then vanish, leaving only the egg-shaped orb of light in its place. The orb began to take shape, but before she knew it the light had reached a staggering height of over ten feet – at least the living area was more than big enough to fit the newborn Pokémon.

Finally the light dimmed and disappeared, and the newborn Pokémon had revealed its true form. However, Brooke had never seen this kind of Pokémon in any informational resource or throughout her journey. This Pokémon seemed to have a similar appearance to a centaur (except without the extra arms). It bore the same color scheme as the egg, being mostly white with a gray face, mane, and torso, green and red eyes, golden hooves, and a golden ring around its abdomen that was accented with green jewels.

Brooke gasped and gazed in awe at this huge entity, wondering how such a majestic giant could emerge from such a small, simple eggshell. Her eyes wandered between every feature on the body of this Pokémon whose name eluded her.

"Who…are you?" she finally asked. "What are you?" She couldn't help but stare up into its eyes as it looked down at her.

"_**You must be the one who allowed my birth to come to pass**_," it said, not actually answering her question.

"I-I did," she replied, trying to think of how to explain herself. "Gallade and I found you as an egg within the jungle this morning. You were all alone, and some aggressive Pokémon came by and threatened all of us. Gallade fought them off, while I escaped with you in tow. Since then I've been taking care of you and keeping you safe." She then looked at Gallade. "Unfortunately, he paid the price for your safety."

The newborn Pokémon also looked at the wounded Blade Pokémon, witnessing its condition. It then closed its eyes for some reason, and without even doing anything else, it caused the Blade Pokémon to faintly glow. This took Brooke by surprise. A moment passed, and the aura dimmed. Just then his eyes slowly opened as Gallade regained consciousness. His trainer was the first sight he beheld as he saw an expression of relief and confusion on her face.

"Gallade, you're awake," she said to him. "How, though?" As she tended to her Pokémon, she looked back up at the newborn entity in wonder. "Did you just…did you heal him?"

"_**Yes**_," it answered. "_**Your Pokémon committed an act of honor and courage, and as a token of my gratitude I granted him revitalized strength**_." Both trainer and Pokémon fixed their gaze on the benevolent yet fierce expression of the giant. They were both incredibly grateful for its help, perhaps Gallade more so than Brooke.

"Thank you so much," she said to it. "I really appreciate it, yet I don't even know who or what you are." The entity realized that it never answered her earlier question. Deciding that Brooke was worthy of understanding its true identity, it spoke up once more.

"_**I am Arceus, the Alpha Pokémon and the creator of the Sinnoh region. I am also the designated ruler over the deities of Sinnoh**_." Upon hearing this piece of information, Brooke gasped, and her eyes widened as well.

"Wait a minute; does that mean that you're a god Pokémon?" Arceus nodded. Brooke was astounded. She had actually discovered and given life to a legendary Pokémon! "Oh wow…this means that you're the only legendary Pokémon that the Supremacy doesn't possess. Matter of fact they don't even know that you exist."

"_**Supremacy?**_" Brooke briefly explained the Supremacy to Arceus, mentioning how it uses legendary Pokémon to govern the entire world. By the time she had finished her explanation, Arceus had already made up its mind about the world government. "_**This council, along with your care, must be what brought me back into this world**_."

"Wait, 'back into this world'? What do you mean by that? Rather, if you're a Sinnoh god, then what brings you here to America?"

"_**Several millennia ago I sealed myself away in the form of a Pokémon egg so that no being would use my power for wicked motives. I was meant to remain in that form in the Hall of Origin above Spear Pillar, and I would only be reborn when two conditions were met: a mortal being of pure heart discovered my egg and brought me under his or her care, and/or a threat to human and Pokémon life alike arose with the capability to cause cataclysmic destruction. However, more recently a disturbance occurred at Spear Pillar with enough force to open up the Distortion World. Giratina emerged and with its power caused me to fall from my resting place and into the human lands of Sinnoh.**_" Brooke had to absorb a lot of information at that moment, but she discerned the cause of that disturbance.

"That must have been when the Allied Forces sought to capture the legendary Pokémon and invaded Spear Pillar," she deduced. Satisfied with her clarification, Arceus continued its explanation.

"_**For some reason I did not remain in that land, as I had involuntarily traveled across oceans and continents and finally ended my journey at this very island. I strongly believe, though, that this occurrence was no coincidence. Fate must have brought me within your reach as a sign of my need to return to this world. You and this 'Supremacy' both fit the description of the conditions**_."

_Am I really the one pure-hearted being that Arceus mentioned?_ Brooke asked herself. "So now that you're reborn, what exactly are you supposed to do?"

"_**If what you have said about the Supremacy is true, then my duty is to put an end to this abomination and save this world from Armageddon**_."

"And in order to do that, you have to free the legendary Pokémon and abolish the Supremacy, is that it?"

"_**Precisely**_," Arceus answered. It paused and stared into her cobalt eyes, as if trying to read her thoughts and perceive her feelings. "_**I can see within your soul that your desire to achieve this goal is as strong as my obligation. Since that is the case, then you must be the being of pure heart. This also means that you alone are capable of helping me bring this world from the brink of obliteration**_."

"You want me to help you abolish the Supremacy?" Arceus nodded again. Brooke couldn't believe what she was hearing. She turned to Gallade, who had remained silent the entire time. He confirmed that Arceus' words were fact. "This is great; it's just the opportunity I was seeking all this time!"

"_**Let me make one thing absolutely clear: you are by no means my master**_." Brooke was rather disheartened by this statement. Even though she had no intention to control Arceus, she felt as if she had not completely earned its trust. "_**However, your motives are genuine, and you did put forth your efforts to ensure that my birth had come to pass. For that I am eternally grateful. Therefore, from this point forward I hereby accept you as my mother**_."

_Mother? I'm not even old enough to have kids, and now I'm apparently the parent of this god Pokémon? What?_ Regardless of her incredulity Brooke believed that she had gained Arceus' trust, which made her feel better. "Thank you, Arceus; I understand."

At that moment a particular yellow mouse happened to walk in on their conversation. Pikachu saw the giant Pokémon with Brooke and loudly called to the others outside. Everyone else heard 'pika pika' from the living area and assumed that it was summoning them.

_Uh-oh, here they come…_Brooke and Gallade both said to themselves as they sweatdropped. Oak, Delia, Tracey, Misty and Brock rushed to the call of the mouse and entered the living area.

"What is all the com—YAAHH!" Oak cried out as he saw Arceus, while the others gasped at the sight of it.

"What is that?" Tracey questioned. Brooke facepalmed, dreading the fact that she'd have to explain why a giant Pokémon was taking up the entire room.

"Guys…this is Arceus," Brooke answered Tracey's question. "It just hatched from its egg." Misty's jaw practically dropped as she stared wide-eyed at Arceus and then at Brooke.

"What? You mean this thing came out of that tiny egg?" She retorted. Brooke elbowed her in the arm.

"Hey, watch what you say, Misty," she whispered through clenched teeth.

"I'm just surprised that it hatched so quickly," Brock commented. "After all you just found it this morning."

"_**Who are these humans**_?" Arceus interrupted the group. The others were startled by the booming voice that suddenly echoed throughout the room.

"It's talking to us!" Delia exclaimed. She looked a bit more scared, while Oak was trembling.

"Arceus, these are my friends," Brooke explained to the Alpha Pokémon. "They're okay." She then turned to the Professor. "Oak, are you trying to say that you've never seen or heard of this Pokémon before?"

"Exactly," he replied with a shaky voice. "No one has recalled seeing it, and it isn't in any informational resources that I've read. What exactly is Arceus?"

"Arceus is a god Pokémon, and it claims to be the creator and ruler of Sinnoh. It's the only legendary Pokémon that the Supremacy hasn't captured."

"What? This is a legendary Pokémon?" Tracey asked with doubt. "No wonder the Professor hasn't heard of it; but if it hasn't been caught by the Supremacy, then that means…"

"If they find out about Arceus, then they might pursue it," Brock concluded. "We can't let that happen."

"Right; we have to keep Arceus safe from them," Brooke said to the others. _That is…until the time comes for it to punish the Supremacy_. At that moment a ring sounded within the room. The videophone was ringing, indicating that a phone call was trying to go through and connect to the villa. Oak approached it to take the call.

"Don't say a word about Arceus, got it?" Everyone nodded. Oak then picked up the receiver and accepted the call. "Professor Oak speaking."

"Ah, Professor Oak, I've been expecting you," a relatively low-pitched, feminine voice could be heard from the receiver.

"To whom am I speaking?" Oak didn't really know who was on the other end of the call.

"Oh, please pardon the lack of introduction," she said. "This is Ms. Sephiria Markheim."

"The President of the United States?" Oak retorted with surprise. The others, especially Brooke, gasped upon hearing that remark. Just then an image appeared on the screen. A woman with blonde, softly curled hair and teal eyes spoke from her desk in the Oval Office of the White House. She had a rather youthful appearance as if she was only in her thirty's, despite Brooke's knowledge that she was actually about fifty years old.

"I see I've developed quite a level of popularity worldwide," Sephiria spoke up. "Anyway, I should get to the point. Is Mrs. Delia Ketchum with you?"

"Yes, she is; is there a particular reason why you need to speak to her?"

"I have some news for her, but I must speak with her directly. If you could put her on the phone, I'd appreciate it. Matter of fact, I see her and a few others in the background; how fantastic." Oak was developing a sort of cynicism that only Brooke could detect.

"President Markheim wishes to speak to you, Delia," Oak said to her as he handed the receiver to her. Delia took it and approached the videophone.

"Hello, this is Delia Ketchum speaking," she spoke up in her normal, polite tone.

"A pleasure to speak with you, Mrs. Ketchum," Sephiria replied.

"How did you even know that Professor Oak and I were here?"

"That's a rather long story, but basically I spoke to Gary Oak, and he told me that you two were vacationing at a summer villa off the coast of Maryland; so we searched for the phone number and, fortunately, got a hold of you. Anyway, as I said before, I have some news for you."

"What kind of news? How bad is it?"

"Oh, this isn't bad news at all, although it might shock you, so I suggest you brace yourself for it." Sephiria paused. "It's about Ash Ketchum." Delia sharply inhaled a bit. "As of today I have officially issued a full pardon for him. We're going to release your son."

"What?" Her eyes went wide. "You mean I finally get to see my boy?" Sephiria nodded. Delia was moved to tears. "Oh, this is wonderful news! Thank you so much!"

"You're very welcome, Mrs. Ketchum," Sephiria replied. "We'll officially release him in a few days once all of the paperwork has been processed. I'd like to arrange a meeting with all of you here in Washington, D.C. so that you may all welcome Ash in a proper fashion. Besides that, there are other matters to discuss that I will explain in due time."

"Wait, did I hear her say 'all of you'?" Misty whispered to Tracey. He just shrugged.

"I will send an e-mail to Professor Oak's inbox with details and instructions regarding your next flight to Washington," Sephiria continued. "Do not worry about expenses. We will cover that, and you'll be taking one of my Air Force jets." Everyone except Delia and Oak took this bit of information rather nicely. "I'll expect to see you within one week from today."

"We'll be sure to arrive promptly," Delia replied.

"I appreciate that. Well, I must get back to my work and—" Sephiria somewhat looked past Delia and even Oak and stared with confusion into the background. "What is that behind you?" Oak realized that Sephiria got a glimpse of Arceus' leg and quickly blocked her view of it.

"Oh, that's nothing at all," Oak answered, trying to hide any indication that he was keeping a secret from her. "We're just redecorating." He half-heartedly chuckled. Sephiria blinked, looking at Oak as if he had something strange on his face.

"Well, no matter, I was just curious. Anyway, I look forward to seeing all of you. Enjoy the rest of your vacation!" Sephiria waved and smiled as she bid farewell in a not-so-professional manner. The screen went blank, and the call ended. Oak exhaled with great relief.

"That was a close one," he remarked. "For a minute I thought she had seen Arceus." Brooke, Tracey, Misty and Brock looked at one another, silently expressing their hope that President Markheim had not actually caught a glimpse of Arceus. If she had seen it, that would have been bad news for them.

Meanwhile at the Oval Office President Markheim rested her chin upon her interlocked fingers and her elbows upon the desk. She contemplated how well this upcoming meeting would go, but she also put a lot of thought into what she had actually seen on the screen behind Professor Oak.

"That didn't look like a piece of decoration to me," Sephiria muttered to herself. "I swear that I saw a Pokémon's leg, but what kind of Pokémon is it?" She whipped out her Pokédex from within one of the desk drawers and began to flip through pages upon pages of Pokémon data. However, no such Pokémon with that kind of leg appeared as an entry in her Dex. "Not in my Dex, eh? Well, I guess I'll have to do some further research." She then set aside the Dex and activated her computer. _I will find out what that Pokémon is, even if it keeps me up all night_, she told herself. She brushed away golden locks from her face and began to pound away at the keyboard, determined to satisfy her curiosity.


	7. Put This Issue to Rest

Author's Notes: Hi readers! I bet you're surprised that I'm updating so soon after the last chapter, huh? Well, I've had a lot of time on my hands this past summer, so I've been working on a bunch of chapters for all of my fan fics. Of course, that may not be the case soon, as I start another semester soon, and I'm potentially starting a new job as well. However, I'll keep working on my fics when I can. After all, you guys are so great that I'm motivated to keep this up. Not to mention I recently got over writer's block. I'm coming up with new chapter ideas left and right! Great, huh?

So anyway, I'm pretty sure you guys are starting to understand what the title of this story really means, yes? I hope so. If it doesn't make sense now, it should make sense later. Just keep reading; the story gets better later if not sooner. ;)

By the way, if anyone sees any typos in my story, please tell me so I can fix them. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Just this story and original characters.

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Chapter 6: Put This Issue to Rest

Delia slammed the receiver onto the videophone and turned to the others.

"That's it; we're heading to Washington, D.C. as soon as possible!" she announced with greater determination than ever before. Her eyes burned with such passion that no one had ever seen in her. Matter of fact it began to somewhat scare everyone.

"Okay, back up, back up," Tracey interjected. "Can someone explain to me what just happened? I heard a little bit of that conversation, but that's all still confusing."

"President Markheim issued a full pardon for Ash, and he is going to be released soon," Delia explained.

"That's great news!" Misty exclaimed. "I knew that he wouldn't be gone for long, and now we get to see him again." She was probably even more excited about this news than even Delia.

"She also said that she wants us to fly to Washington in order to speak to her in person and to go see Ash," Oak added. "The only problem is that we have no way to go to the airport, since Keith hasn't come back with his boat yet."

"Well, that poses as a bit of a problem," Brock commented as he stroked his chin. "I guess we're not going anywhere until he does return. In the meantime we might as well enjoy ourselves."

"What about Arceus?" Brooke spoke up. The others just looked at her. They almost forgot that there was a giant god Pokémon present.

"_**Is there a predicament**_?" Arceus inquired. They all looked up at the Alpha Pokémon, trying to think of the best answer.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a predicament," Brooke mentioned. "It's more like a few minor setbacks. First of all there's no way you can fit through these doors or windows. Even if you could, we'd have to keep you hidden somehow." Arceus pondered on those words.

"_**I can handle that**_," Arceus replied. It then turned invisible, phased right through the walls, and reappeared outside. Everyone looked out the windows to see Arceus floating in front of the windows.

"Okay, problem solved, but we still have to deal with the President. You see, Arceus, President Markheim is a member of the Super Supremacy, an elite group within the council. She has summoned us to have a meeting with her, but who knows what she would do if she were to find out about you." Arceus phased back into the room.

"_**Then I must remain hidden until the right time**_."

"The right time?" Misty interrupted them. "Wait, what does that mean? What is going on, anyway?"

"Brooke, is there something you're not telling us?" Tracey interrogated her. Brooke took a step back from the group and gazed at them with wide eyes. She forgot to tell everyone except Brock what she had planned earlier, but even Brock had no idea that she was actually going to follow through with her plan.

"I know exactly what's happening," Brock deduced. "Tracey, don't get on her case about it. She and I have already discussed this." He then turned to Brooke. "It seems that you've made a decision, haven't you?" Brooke looked less afraid of receiving harsh criticisms from her friends and instead expressed a more serious demeanor.

"Yes, I have," she answered with a nod. She turned to the whole group and took a deep breath. "I've decided that, with Arceus' help, I'm going to abolish the Supremacy once and for all, and I hope that all of you will support me in my plan." The others gasped.

"Are you crazy?" Misty retorted. "That's what got Ash into trouble! You can't be serious!"

"I am serious, Misty. I've always wanted to end them, and now I have the perfect opportunity to do it. Arceus is going to do this, as well, and Brock has already expressed his full support for my actions." Misty glared at Brock with a 'did you seriously agree to that?' look on her face. Tracey had expected Brock to cower in fear from Misty's angry expression, but instead Brock stood his ground and nodded, confirming that what Brooke said was true.

"You're both crazy," she muttered with a huff as she crossed her arms and turned away from them. "Don't you realize that if you fail, you could be sent to prison for the rest of your life – or even worse, killed?"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take as long as Arceus is here to help," Brooke answered again.

"She makes a good point," Tracey said to Misty. "After all this wouldn't even be remotely possible without the power of a god Pokémon." Everyone looked up at the silent Arceus, who spoke up once again.

"_**What most of you do not comprehend is that the Supremacy is capable of causing an apocalypse to occur**_," it said to them. "_**The world will literally end if they continue to remain in power. I have been reborn in order to prevent this horrific occurrence from becoming reality**_." Everyone except Brooke couldn't believe what Arceus was saying.

"You see? Arceus has prophesized that the Supremacy is a greater threat to all of us than we realize!" Brooke explained to them. "If we allow them to continue ruling the world, then something like another war could happen!" Everyone gasped in horror at the thought.

"If what Arceus has said is true, then Brooke is right," Oak finally broke his silence, clenching a fist. "The Supremacy must be stopped – for the sake of the world." Delia was pretty pleased with Oak's change of mind. In response to Oak's words the others indistinctly chatted among themselves.

Brooke let her mind wander again, not really paying attention to what anyone else was saying – as she didn't include herself in any of the conversations. She did, however, notice something approaching her, and it happened to be the Blade Pokémon.

"Oh, Gallade, you must be feeling better," she said as she stepped away from the group and met his curious gaze. "Let me check your wounds." She gingerly unraveled the bandages on his shoulder to inspect the bite marks that were previously infected with poison. She then loosened the bandages on his chest to examine the cuts left by sharp, poison-tipped claws. All were barely noticeable. "Oh, wow, Arceus did a fine job. You look good as new!" She proceeded to remove the bandages and discard them.

Meanwhile the other teens and Oak were discussing amongst themselves while Brooke was tending to her Pokémon.

"Are you sure that Brooke's idea is a good one?" Misty whispered to Brock.

"Of course it is," he whispered back. "And its chances of working just got better with Arceus in the picture. Isn't that right, Tracey?"

"Wha…?" Tracey could barely respond to what Brock had just said. "Erm…" He wasn't sure if he should agree with him or – rather – if he should side with Misty on this matter. He was a bit afraid of how Misty would react, but he couldn't help but understand the truth in Brock's words, since he had agreed with that point just moments ago.

"Just say what you have to say, Tracey," Oak said to him, making an attempt to assure him that all they needed to hear was his honest opinion. Understanding what he meant, Tracey was more confident after hearing those words from his mentor.

"Right, well, I have to side with Brock on this one," he finally said. Brock smirked, while Misty began to pout. "For one thing Arceus is just what we need to make this plan work – if not the only thing that will work. Besides that I don't think we can talk Brooke out of following through with her idea. That seems less possible than this conspiracy plan, if you ask me." Oak couldn't help but chuckle at the last statement.

"Well, I've already made my decision, so who's left?" Oak asked. He directed his sights towards the only one who didn't say yes: Misty.

"So, Misty, do you still dissent, or can we actually come to a consensus?" Brock inquired as he turned to see her still pouting face. Misty still believed that this idea was a bad idea, not to mention that she didn't want to admit that she could possibly be wrong about it. Tracey and Oak looked at her in silence, awaiting an answer from her. Misty could tell that she was the only one against the plan, but that didn't change her mind.

"If this conspiracy plan turns sour, then I'm not getting involved in the consequences," she answered with a cynical expression. Tracey facepalmed, and Brock showed a sign that he felt rather defeated in trying to convince Misty of anything. Oak, on the other hand, had something to say about that.

"It seems that you agree in some way, but from what I just heard, you're implying that you won't even support Brooke in any manner, am I right?" Oak nailed it on the head – well, almost. Misty hadn't thought about it like that. She only meant to flat out disapprove of the conspiracy plan, but by doing so, she also indirectly proved that she wouldn't show her friend the support she needed. "Let me put it this way: if you won't do it for us, then do it for the sake of the world, and especially for all of the Pokémon. They need our help, even if they don't realize it yet. Besides, you want to see Ash, don't you?" That was it – Misty was sold. Those last statements were all he had to say in order to knock some sense into her. Not only did she miss Ash, but there was also more at stake than she had realized; Misty now understood what was important. She was ready to make a decision.

"Fine, I'll help," she finally said. The boys were a bit surprised that she had changed her mind so quickly. "Professor Oak is right; we have to pull this off for everyone's sake." Oak nodded with approval, while Tracey and Brock exchanged expressions of assurance.

"Well then, if everyone has come to a consensus, then let's go tell Brooke and Mrs. Ketchum," Tracey suggested. The others agreed, but someone had approached them at that moment.

"I'm one step ahead of you guys!" Delia announced in a singsong tone as she held Pikachu. "It looks like we're going to make the initiative; that's great!" Pikachu agreed with a 'Pika!' and pumped a tiny fist into the air.

"Wait, what did I hear about 'initiative'?" Brooke asked innocently as she walked up to Delia, Gallade following closely behind. The others gathered round.

"You'll be glad to know that we're all in agreement," Brock answered for Delia. "Whatever you and Arceus have planned, we're definitely going to help – all of us." Brooke's eyes literally gleamed with joy when she heard him say that.

"Yes! This is great; I—ahem, we finally get to make a difference!" she exclaimed as she pumped a fist into the air. "Isn't that right, Arceus?" The Alpha Pokémon, who had been quiet the whole time, looked down at the group and nodded.

"_**If we are to defend this world from destruction, then we will need all the help we can acquire**_," it replied. "_**We are taking a step in the right direction, and that means good news**_."

"Speaking of good news, I can't wait to see Ash!" Delia added to the conversation.

"Don't get yourself worked up now, Delia," Oak interjected, trying to prevent her from getting too excited. "I still have to read that e-mail so that we can follow the instructions and make proper travel plans to get to Washington. In the meantime we'll have to wait for Keith to get us back to the mainland."

"Besides, it's getting late, and the first thing I'd like to do is get some sleep," Misty added with a yawn. The others agreed. The sun had almost completely set, and trying to do anything around nightfall would not have been a smart idea.

"Well then, I think we should all rest up," Tracey suggested. "After all we have a vacation to enjoy, and then we have huge plans afterwards." Brooke then uttered a sound that implied deep thought. "Hey, what's up now, Brooke?"

"I just thought of something," she stated. "Where is Arceus going to sleep?" Everyone looked up at the Alpha Pokémon and sweat-dropped. The god was much too large to sleep in any of the other rooms except for the living area, but even that room was a bit cramped and uncomfortable.

"_**Worry not**_," Arceus spoke up. "_**I will not need much rest, but I will find an appropriate resting spot should I feel fatigued**_." Misty just shrugged, implying that she was okay with whatever it decided to do. Brooke wasn't so sure about that, but she accepted the idea, anyway.

"Hey, we should go get all of our Pokémon and then go to bed," Brock suggested as he turned to exit the room and walk outside. Everyone who had Pokémon outside followed him, while Oak and Delia headed upstairs after telling the others that they would go on ahead of them.

Tracey had the easiest time returning his Pokémon to their Pokéballs, and thus he was the first to do so. He only had three of them, and they were all standing in the same spot, being obedient as usual. He bid the others good night and rushed upstairs towards his room.

Misty also had an easy time recalling her Pokémon, since they were all by the pool. She barely said good night to the others before she hurried up to the third floor and towards her room.

The other Pokémon, on the other hand, were not so easy to call back. They were scattered everywhere, and some of them were even hidden from plain view. Toxicroak, Infernape, Crobat, and Garchomp were nowhere to be seen.

"I wonder where they went," Brock muttered, searching high and low for the aforementioned Pokémon. Fortunately, Crobat flew down from the roof and perched on his shoulder. "There you are, Crobat. Why don't you take a rest?" He returned the Bat Pokémon to its Pokéball before he continued the search for Toxicroak.

"Where did Garchomp go?" Brooke asked herself. She decided to check the sand for any sign of it. She did see something poking out of the sand, and upon further investigation she identified it as the tip of Garchomp's fin. She dug up some of the fin and uncovered more of it, but then it rose out the sand, revealing the Mach Pokémon. "Hey there, silly. Decided to sleep here, huh? Come on back." She returned Garchomp to its Pokéball and then kept looking for Infernape.

"Hey, I found Infernape," Brock said to her a moment later. Well, that didn't take very long. The flaming monkey jumped out of a tree and towards its trainer, who recalled it into its Pokéball as well. "Any sign of Toxicroak?" Brooke looked around, but she couldn't see it.

"No, but I'll check over there," she answered, walking over to some bushes. She rummaged through the hedges, but she still couldn't find Toxicroak. She turned around to tell Brock, but something poked her back. She turned around again to see the Toxic Mouth Pokémon's face mere inches from hers. She flinched and shrieked a bit, but she calmed herself after realizing what was in front of her. Brock approached them and lightly scolded Toxicroak before sending it back into its Pokéball.

_Well then, I guess Toxicroak decided to play a joke on me before retiring_, she thought with a sigh as she watched Brock call back the rest of his Pokémon.

"Hey, do you want me to wait with you?" Brock asked as he idly walked towards her. She understood that he meant to wait with her until she recalled all of her Pokémon before they would both head back to their respective rooms.

"That's alright; you go on ahead," she gently declined the offer. "This won't take me long. Don't worry; I'll catch up." At first Brock said nothing and didn't move, but then he made his way inside, bidding Brooke good night as he did so. This left Brooke to retrieve the rest of her Pokémon on her own. After finding Floatzel in the pool, Luxray next to a tree, and Rhyperior in the sand, she counted up all of her Pokémon – only to realize that one was missing.

_Oh shoot; I left Gallade inside, didn't I_? She asked herself. Realizing this, Brooke went back inside and found the Blade Pokémon standing in the exact same spot since a few minutes ago. She was about to return him to his Pokéball, but she stopped, remembering that she still had to talk to him. Besides that she also remembered that, like Pikachu, he didn't like being cooped up inside a Pokéball – despite the comfort of the Luxury Ball. He would obediently remain inside it most of the time, but when given the freedom or the opportunity he would choose otherwise.

"Come on, Gallade, let's go get some rest," Brooke said to him. Before she walked towards the stairs her eyes caught sight of a certain Pecha Berry on the coffee table. Deciding not to waste it because of Brock's thoughtfulness, she picked it up and took it with her as she and Gallade made their way up to the third floor and into her room, but not before they both said good night to Arceus.

"_Was that Pecha Berry for me_?" Gallade asked as Brooke closed the door behind them and packed the Pecha Berry into her backpack. She also removed her Pokéball belt and set it on top of her backpack so that it would be near her bed.

"Yeah, Brock gave it to me to give to you, but I guess you don't need it now that you're healed. No matter; I might as well save it for later." The Blade Pokémon nodded, although he noticed something different about her mood judging by the change in her tone. He was about to ask about it before she spoke up again. "I'm just glad you're okay now; I was really worried about you."

"_I felt the same way, but it was a small price to pay to protect you and the god Pokémon_." Brooke strode to the other side of the room, stood by the window, and stared at the night sky as she gathered her thoughts. After a moment she turned to him.

"You knew that Arceus was inside that egg, didn't you?" Gallade nodded. "Sometimes I wonder why you didn't just tell me that from the beginning, but I guess it made sense, considering how dire the situation was. I happened to have had the egg at the time, but did you just want me to flee with it, since I would've been in your way otherwise? Was that egg your biggest concern?" His eyes grew a bit wider than normal.

"_Absolutely not!_" Gallade approached the window and made eye contact with his trainer, his ruby eyes locking onto her sapphire eyes. "_You are my greatest priority, first and foremost. That egg was helpless, but I would have put you in danger if I had guarded it myself; so I had to depend on you to keep it away from those Pokémon. Egg or no egg I would have risked myself to protect you, anyway_."

Something clicked in Brooke's mind. She remembered how Gallade in general were considered to be not just masters of swordsmanship, but also very chivalrous and protective of others – and to a greater extent than their Gardevoir counterparts. In this case her Gallade was even more chivalrous and protective of his female trainer (Gallade were more inclined towards women). Not to mention that his loyalty to her exemplified the eternal gratitude he had for her since the day they first met. Gallade would do anything for Brooke, and she loved him for that. After considering all of those notions, she thought that the title of 'the Blade Pokémon' wasn't good enough for her Pokémon. She imagined that something along the lines of 'the Gallant Pokémon' or 'the Chivalry Pokémon', or even 'the Gladiator Pokémon' would better fit his description.

"Gallade…" She was almost lost for words. Instinctively she brought him into such a close embrace that the horn on his chest was practically impaling her, but she didn't care. She just wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly, wanting to somehow show her appreciation for her Pokémon. "You're so considerate…and so loyal. Thanks."

"…" The Blade Pokémon was rather stunned by this gesture. Not only could he feel the emotion demonstrated by her physical and verbal expressions, but he could also sense the strong mental vibe emanating from her close presence. As a Psychic Pokémon and as her friend he couldn't help but reciprocate the gesture, so he wrapped his slender emerald arms around her to return the embrace. "_You're welcome_."

Meanwhile Arceus could see and hear them telepathically from the first floor.

_**I knew it**_, Arceus told itself. _**This human does have a pure heart. First, she showed her kindness by taking care of me, and now she is exemplifying the bond she shares with her Pokémon – especially this Gallade. She is worthy of my power, as long as she is capable of handling it**_. Arceus decided that this was a good time to get some rest, so it searched for an open area of the floor in the living room and settled itself there, resting its head between its forelegs and closing its eyes. No one saw it, but Arceus appeared to sleep in the same manner as a dog.

Speaking of sleep Brooke began to feel tired. After severing the embrace, she decided to change into some comfortable clothes for the night and crawl under the blankets. Before she fell asleep, Brooke fixed her eyes on the window and saw that Gallade was still standing there.

"Aren't you tired?" The Blade Pokémon silently shook his head. She remembered that he had been resting for most of the day since the Poison Pokémon incident, so it made sense to her that he wouldn't be tired. With that understood she reached for the Luxury Ball and set it on the nightstand closest to the window. "Well, you can decide where you want to sleep tonight. I'll leave that there just in case." Brooke then lied flat on her bed as her head made a soft thud on the pillows, shutting her eyes and muttering an almost inaudible 'good night' as well.

While Brooke fell asleep, Gallade remained wide-awake as he stared out the window at the starry night sky. He gently rested his elbows (wary of the blades) on the windowsill and then let his mind wander.

A lot happened in a single day for him, and Gallade recalled all of it – the lone egg, the attacking Pokémon and their impact on his health, and the almighty god Pokémon that hatched from said egg – not to mention Brooke's reaction to it all. Thinking about his trainer, Gallade directed his attention to the peaceful expression on her face, which put him at ease. After all, it was in a Psychic Pokémon's nature to feel everything that its trainer felt at almost every moment, but in his case that wasn't the only thing that affected him. It wasn't just the feelings _of_ his trainer, but also – dare I say it – feelings _for_ his trainer.

Of course, he could also feel the fatigue coming from her. This was a sign, telling him that this would be a good time to retire. Gallade stepped closer to the side of the bed and turned to the nightstand, fixing his gaze on the Luxury Ball.

He was trying to make up his mind on whether he would rest in his Pokéball or not. One side of him didn't want to return to his Pokéball, since today was the first time in a while that he had been released from the ball, and he wanted to take advantage of spending the night in the outside world. Not to mention that he was given the choice to rest wherever he pleased tonight. But the other side of him believed that it would be best to give Brooke some space and respect her privacy.

Making his decision, Gallade approached the nightstand and extended a hand to return to the Luxury Ball. But just as he was about to touch it, a faint sound reached his ears. He stood still, and his body became tense.

_What was that noise? An intruder? Perhaps one of the guests?_ Gallade asked himself many questions as he surveyed the area, trying to figure out the source of the sound. He almost unleashed his elbow blades until he found the source. He redirected his attention towards Brooke and saw that she had turned in her sleep, but something was wrong. Her expression had changed from one of peace to one of pain, as if she was struggling with something. She was either having a nightmare, or she was getting sick. In any case he crawled onto the bed to further examine her. He placed a jade hand on her forehead and determined that she wasn't feeling ill in any manner. But as soon as he made contact, the features on her face softened. He noticed that her expression appeared less tormented and more content.

After confirming that she was okay, Gallade allowed his hand to gently drop onto the mattress, but just then he felt something seize his hand. He looked down to see Brooke's hand surprisingly gripping his. Did she know that he was there, or was she doing that in her sleep? He didn't really know, nor did he care. The fact that she looked at ease and that she was grasping his hand made him feel better.

It seemed that the choice was made for him, since Brooke (consciously or not) didn't want him to go anywhere. This was okay for him, since it would let him take advantage of being a sort of bodyguard for his trainer tonight. Gallade allowed himself to lie flat on the bed and get comfortable, yet he didn't move his hand – the one hand that was in the hand of his trainer. He took one last look at the peaceful expression on Brooke's face before fatigue took over and caused him to slowly close his eyes. His body then relaxed as he drifted off to sleep at his trainer's side.


	8. Return of the Keith

Author's Notes: Hey readers! I managed to finally update this fic faster than I expected. Before I get to the actual story, I must explain why it's been taking me so long. First, classes resumed last month, so I've been busy with that. Second, I finally got a new job at GameStop, so that's also been eating up my time. Nonetheless I spent the past summer working on fics, especially this one. This story has been gaining popularity, so I just had to update it for loyal readers like you.

Anyway, this chapter is a somewhat short one, and it serves as an interlude to another important plot point that will come in the next chapter. For now, enjoy this one, and I'll continue to update this fic when I can. ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, but I wish I did.

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Chapter 7: Return of the Keith

Brooke awoke the next morning to a nice surprise. Upon opening her eyes she saw Gallade lying next to her, still sleeping. She couldn't help but crack a tiny grin.

_Well, it looks like he decided not to sleep in the Luxury Ball_, she thought. _He looks so cute when he's sleeping_. Just then she noticed something else – her pale hand was grasping his green hand. This seemed odd to her, as she hadn't been aware of even holding anything last night, and she had no idea why she was holding Gallade's hand either. She probably did that in her sleep. Whatever the reason it must have given him a sense of ease and security. After all, he was still sound asleep.

She removed her hand from his and continued to peer at the soft features on the face of the still dormant Psychic Pokémon – that is, until he opened his eyes at that very moment. Gallade immediately set his eyes on Brooke, noticing that she was already awake.

"Morning, Gallade," she said to him in a singsong tone. He hadn't expected her to be awake before him, but at least he caught the sight of her face instead of the harsh sunlight that could have met his sensitive retinas. His lips curled up slightly, and with a nod he acknowledged her greeting. "I figured you wouldn't be talkative this early in the morning."

"…" Gallade just watched Brooke roll out the other side of the bed and land soundlessly on her feet. She reached into her backpack, whipped out her clothes and some toiletries, and retreated into the bathroom and out of sight.

While she changed clothes, the Blade Pokémon sat up and stretched. He felt a lot better today than he had yesterday, most likely because he got a better night's sleep than he did in a while. Of course, the bed was also comfortable, and he had the company of his trainer to put him at ease.

Moments later Brooke emerged from the bathroom, but instead of wearing her normal outfit, she instead wore black shorts, a pair of sandals, sunglasses on her head, a dark red bikini top, and a black-and-red towel draped on her shoulder. She didn't even wear jewelry. Gallade wondered why she made such a change in attire, until Brooke explained to him that she felt like swimming today. It had been two days since the incident with the boat and the storm, so she figured that taking a dip wouldn't be such a bad idea today.

Brooke went back to her backpack to grab a few more things – Pokéball belt, her phone, a few hairbands, etc. – before she opened the door to leave the room. She motioned to the Blade Pokémon to join her, so he obediently followed her out the room and down the hall. Coincidentally Misty saw Brooke and Gallade walking down the hall past her door and, after noticing Brooke's swimsuit, got the idea to also go swimming. She retreated into her room and also changed into her blue swimsuit.

Anyway, Brooke and Gallade made their way down to the first floor and into the living area, where they saw Arceus just waking up from its slumber. Gallade had almost forgotten that there was a rather large god Pokémon sleeping in the middle of the floor, so he simply stared at it. Brooke, on the other hand, merely acknowledged its presence for a moment before she heard background noise and stopped to listen for the source of said noise. She followed it, leaving Gallade to stand with Arceus, and the sound led her into the kitchen, where Professor Oak was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee and watching the weather forecast on the television screen.

Brooke decided to pour herself a cup of coffee and, after loading it with a lot of cream and sugar, took it to the table to sit with Oak.

"It looks like you've already made plans for the day, doesn't it?" Oak made small talk after eyeing the towel on her shoulder. Brooke simply nodded and took a sip of her coffee. Her eyes wandered and eventually fixed themselves on the screen. At that moment the weather forecast was replaced with a breaking news report. They both stared at the screen and saw a rather prominent-looking man approaching a podium. He was about to make some sort of important statement.

She took another sip of coffee, but as soon as she recognized who was speaking at that moment, she abruptly spat the coffee out and gawked at the screen.

"What the hell is Salvatoré doing on TV?" Brooke asked incredulously. "And why is he making a speech, anyway?" Oak couldn't really answer her question. All he could do was to continue watching the screen to understand the nature of the speech that was about to be given.

"I sincerely apologize for the nature of the storm from two days past," Salvatoré said. He spoke Brazilian-Portuguese, so the English translator spoke over him and off-screen. "The storm was not intended to become that hazardous or to cause any harm to innocent citizens. It was meant only to prevent the Atlantic pirates from escaping the Brazilian navy. It should be announced, however, that the pirates have been captured and brought to justice. Something good did come out of this storm, at least. The ocean will be that much safer for other sailors. With that said I once again apologize and express my condolences to anyone who was harmed by this storm. That is all." Salvatoré left the podium and the report went back to the initial anchor.

By the time that he had finished his speech, Brooke was fuming, and Oak was unconvinced. He was supposed to believe that this Supremacy member was making an apology to the world and at the same time reassure the world that it is safer because of his actions. Did he believe it? Of course not, the speech seemed inconclusive. Fine details like that were pretty easy to pick up for someone like him, being a professor and all. As for Brooke? Well…she wouldn't have any of it.

"This is such bull," she bluntly stated. "That's no apology! It's just an excuse for him to continue abusing the powers of legendary Pokémon! Since when has the world been safer? Huh? Do you feel like answering that?" Oak put a hand on her shoulder, and she immediately snapped back into reality and calmed herself. He didn't want to see her arguing with the television any further.

"I commend your abilities as a critical thinker," Oak began. "However, this is not helping anyone's mood, so I suggest that we just let it go for now and focus on just relaxing…and furthermore we should look ahead to the meeting with President Markheim." Oak was right; they did have an important meeting to which they could all look forward, and staying in the past wouldn't help.

Just as Brooke was about to comment on that, Misty entered the kitchen, sporting her dark blue bikini and white shorts to contrast Brooke's dark red bikini and black shorts. She and Oak both turned their attention to the redhead as she made her presence apparent.

"Hey, you got distracted pretty quickly, Brooke," Misty said to her. "Are you coming outside? I already invited the guys to go swimming with us." It just dawned on Brooke that she had forgotten all about her plans for recreation ever since the television got her attention. She nodded and silently stood away from the table, walking towards Misty. The two of them turned towards the living area and made their way to the double doors leading outside, but not before Brooke called to Gallade to join them.

Oak decided that he would just finish his coffee and keep an eye on Arceus for a while, so he stayed behind in the kitchen. He got one good look at the Alpha Pokémon and wondered what would become of the god in the next few days. In any case this would be a good opportunity to do some research on it. He grabbed a notepad and began scribbling notes, despite himself.

Anyway, the girls took a different direction and made their way to a different part of the island that had a small gulf and plenty of shade from the sun, thanks to the numerous palm trees.

"CANNONBALL!" they heard Brock shout before he leaped into the rather deep gulf, curling his body into a ball before he hit the water's surface. Unfortunately for a certain Pokémon watcher, he was caught in the giant splash. Tracey became completely soaked, even after attempting to keep his hair (and headband) dry.

The girls couldn't help but laugh at Tracey's misfortune. Brock also let out a chuckle upon resurfacing. Tracey just sighed in defeat and laughed along with them. Marill and Swampert swam towards their trainers and joined in on the fun, as they splashed each other.

That gave Misty the idea to let out all of her Water Pokémon, and so she did. Upon being released from their Pokéballs they immediately entered the gulf and proceeded to swim. Brooke called out her Floatzel to join them.

"Hey, are you two just going to stand there, or are you going to jump in?" Brock shouted to Misty and Brooke.

"Yeah, come on!" Tracey added. "The water feels great!" The girls gazed in the direction of the guys in response to their shouting. Misty immediately reacted by stripping down to her bikini, discarding her clothes and towel on a beach chair, and rushing into the water. Brooke, on the other hand, was hesitant to move for a few reasons: the perfectly toned bare chests of the gentlemen, especially Brock's, distracted her. She couldn't help but blush, and yet she tried to hide it, pretending that it was mere sunburn.

She also had to figure out what to do with Gallade. The Blade Pokémon was just standing there awkwardly, not knowing what he should do. She sighed and turned to him.

"Well, you can either join us for a swim in the gulf, or you can serve as a sort of lifeguard and watch us from here," she suggested to him. In response to that he sat in the nearest beach chair and crossed his white legs, indicating that he would be the lifeguard. "I thought so." She smirked. With that she stripped down to her bikini as well, leaving her clothes and other belongings with Gallade. She then tied her hair back into a ponytail before she rushed into the water as well.

"It's about time, Brooke!" Misty blurted. "We thought you'd never swim with us!" Brooke ignored her and instead dove under the surface, appreciating the bathwater temperature of the gulf. A moment later she resurfaced to see Floatzel in front of her. This gave her an idea.

"Race you to that rock and back!" she yelled before she immediately rushed ahead of the Sea Weasel Pokémon. Floatzel stared dumbfounded at its trainer after she had taken a head start, but then it began swimming in the same direction. It actually caught up to her and then past her as it approached the rock. Floatzel rebounded off the rock and swam in the opposite direction, and it reached the shore's edge by the time that Brooke could even touch the rock.

"It looks like you lose, Brooke," Tracey spoke up. Brooke swam back to the group rather slowly in response.

"Yeah, I knew Floatzel would win," she replied, catching her breath. "I figured racing it would be good exercise, though." Her eyes wandered over to Brock, who had his back facing the group. Another idea popped into her head. She quietly swam towards him and then, with a swift movement of her arm, unleashed a large wave of water at him. The unwary Brock took cover and then turned around in reaction to the splash.

"Hey, what was that for?" he cried jokingly. Brock attempted to send a giant splash right at Brooke, but she dove underwater before it could reach her. She then swam behind Misty and resurfaced. She locked her arms around her upper body and pile-drove her through the water's surface, sending them both under before they swam back up once more.

"Someone feels like being mischievous," Tracey commented on Brooke's actions as he glanced at Misty's red face.

"You could say that," she agreed. "Hey Misty, your Water Pokémon should be taking mental notes. Stuff like that could be effective in battle!" Brock nodded in agreement, while Misty just sighed, thinking, _did you have to demonstrate on us?_

Some time had passed, and they continued to swim about in the gulf before once again the playful atmosphere was abruptly disturbed.

"GAL-GALLADE!" Everyone turned to the Blade Pokémon's shouting as he ran up to the shore's edge and waved his arms around like a maniac. Brooke, as she was the only one who knew exactly what he was saying, turned around and peered into the distance. To her surprise she saw a boat sailing in the horizon, and it appeared to be heading towards the island. After a moment she recognized it.

"Hey, that's Keith's boat!" she exclaimed. "He came back early!" The others turned their gazes in the same direction and also recognized the boat.

"You're right; he did!" Misty exclaimed as well. "I didn't expect him to be back for another two days."

"Let's dry off and go meet up with him," Tracey suggested, making the initiative by swimming up to shore and making his way towards a beach chair with his stuff. The others followed suit, but not before they all called their Pokémon back to their Pokéballs (except Gallade – no surprise there). They dried off and gathered their belongings before they made their way to another part of the island where they had first landed ashore.

Just then Brooke remembered something, and it seemed a bit off. Instead of waiting for Keith to land ashore, she made a beeline up the steps leading to the villa. Gallade caught sight of this and followed her. The others hadn't realized that she left them there.

When she made her way inside Brooke immediately attracted the attention of the Alpha Pokémon. It was still sitting patiently in the living area.

"Arceus, I have some news," she began speaking to it. Arceus seemed intrigued at this point. "Someone is approaching the island as we speak. You'll have to keep yourself hidden from his sights; otherwise it will mean bad news." Arceus took a minute to ponder on this fact before it spoke up.

"_**Of course, mother**_," it replied. Brooke wasn't used to being called 'mother', so this reply threw her a bit off guard. Arceus vanished instantly and phased through the windows, floating up to the roof where it settled there and remained invisible. Gallade stared in awe at the part of the window through which the god Pokémon just phased.

"Well then, problem solved," she commented with a sigh. "I'd rather not have anyone else except us know that Arceus is here. You know what I mean, Gallade?" The Blade Pokémon nodded in response. "I suppose we can go back down to see the others." The two of them left the building and made their way back down the steps. As they approached the group, Brock turned to them and gave them a look of confusion.

"How did you manage to wander off under our noses, and what were you doing, anyway?" he inquired. Brooke looked over his shoulder to make sure that Keith wasn't there, and then she stepped closer to him.

"I had to tell Arceus to hide, if you know what I mean," she whispered into his ear. Brock understood her and nodded. Tracey picked up what Brooke said and relayed the message to Misty, who silently nodded. They had to keep this whole thing quiet while Keith was here.

Speaking of whom, he finally landed his boat at the dock near the shore. He exited the boat and proceeded to tie it to the dock, all the while shouting a greeting to the group. After properly anchoring the boat he idly approached them.

"Hey Keith, what brings you back here so soon?" Misty asked, being the first to speak to him. The sailor took off his sunglasses and cleaned them with his shirt before he replied.

"Well, I said I had to take care of business with other customers," he began, putting his sunglasses back on. "Apparently I got that done faster than I had originally planned, so I decided to come back here and see if you guys needed a ride or whatnot." The teens began to chat amongst themselves.

"Well, we do have to be somewhere soon, but I'm not sure if everyone is ready to leave yet," Tracey stated.

"I suppose we'll have to figure that out with everybody here, now won't we?" Keith suggested, running a hand through the bangs of his blonde hair. The group accepted his suggestion, and they all traveled up the long flight of steps towards the villa.


	9. Secrets and Suspicions

Author's Notes: Wow, has it really been almost a year since I last posted a chapter? Goodness...I have to apologize for that. I've been super busy with college, and the change of employment took a way more of my free time than I had hoped. However, I assure you all that any free time I do get is being put towards continuing to write this story. Seriously, I still have ideas for the latter part of the story with details that need to be worked out.

This chapter is about the same length as the previous one, somewhat short but not too short. There are some interesting surprises here, so you should enjoy it.

Once again, feel free to review the chapter. Hopefully you guys haven't abandoned or vowed to kill me yet. XP I still love you guys, so the praise and constructive criticism would be much appreciated. :D

Disclaimer: After almost a year, I still do not own Pokémon.

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Chapter 8: Secrets and Suspicions

As they walked, they kept to themselves, not speaking to one another. This bothered a certain Blade Pokémon. As he walked behind his trainer, he noticed how Keith remained in the back of the group and how he idly kept his distance. Gallade sensed a strong vibe about the sailor that bothered him even more. Something was wrong, but he couldn't quite figure out why.

Brooke and her friends must have known this man called Keith, since they were speaking on friendly terms. However, he was a complete stranger to the Psychic. Gallade couldn't see the man's face, but he knew that Keith was bearing an expression that just spelled trouble. Unfortunately the others didn't notice, and nor would they ever notice at this point.

The group made its way inside, and just as they did so, Oak and Delia happened to have walked in on them.

"Ah, Keith, I see you've returned," Oak spoke up as he approached the sailor, who nodded. He and Keith exchanged a handshake.

"Yay, that means we can get going soon!" Delia delightfully added.

"Actually, the kids and I were just talking about that," Keith replied as he turned to her. "I was informed that you all had to be somewhere soon, but I thought that we could discuss that matter before we make any plans." Before Delia could go in over her head, Oak agreed and invited everyone to gather around the coffee table in the living area, so everyone picked a place to sit and got comfortable.

After about ten minutes of explanations, not including certain details that the others wanted to keep secret, Keith paraphrased what was told to him.

"I get it; so you guys need to leave whenever possible so that you can make that flight, correct?" Delia nodded eagerly. Clearly she was getting impatient about their next trip. "Well, I should tell you that I checked the weather forecast earlier. The skies looked pretty cloudy over in mainland, and chances are it'll rain pretty heavily later today. If you ask me, I'd rather not risk anything today. We can leave first thing tomorrow morning if that works with everyone." The others chatted amongst themselves once again, commenting on Keith's idea. They weren't sure if waiting another day was the best thing to do, but they did agree upon the fact that they didn't want to get caught in more bad weather and have another boat incident like the one from days before.

"Keith makes a good point," Brock mentioned. "We should stay here for another night and then take off in the morning."

"In that case I should book our flight for tomorrow and inform the pilot of our arrival," Oak added. "I'll go do that now." With that said he stood up and left the room to go use the nearest computer. Delia sighed, seemingly with more impatience.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Ketchum," Tracey said to her. "We'll see Ash in due time."

"You're right, Tracey," she replied. "Oh, I'm just anticipating this meeting so much that I can barely sit still." Misty could see what she meant; she glanced at Delia's foot and saw it tapping the floor rapidly. "So, what do we do in the meantime?"

"We relax for one more day," Brock answered. "Hey, how about some lunch?" Everyone else agreed excitedly. Delia offered to help cook again, so the two of them retreated into the kitchen to get started on another awesome concoction.

Meanwhile Keith took off and went back to his boat. He said that he was going to go fishing and catch something good for the next meal. Misty offered to help and went with him.

That left Brooke, Tracey, and Oak in the living area, not really sure what to do. Oak suggested that Brooke and Tracey help each other set up a table for seven. They agreed and searched the kitchen for the proper table settings. Tracey carried plates and napkins, while Brooke grabbed silverware and glasses. They decided that another outdoor lunch would be fun, since everyone would be joining this time.

"So, how's Arceus?" Tracey immediately asked Brooke the second they were outside. He was careful not to ask her this question within earshot of Keith.

"Hmm? Oh, I guess Arceus is fine," she replied while arranging the silverware where Tracey set the plates. "I'm actually wondering how long we can keep it hidden."

"Yeah, me too. How come you wanted Arceus to hide, anyway?" He tucked the napkins under the silverware, while Brooke placed the glasses with them.

"Well, I only wanted the six of us to know about Arceus until circumstances change where it needs to manifest itself. You know what I mean?" Tracey nodded. "Even though Keith might be a good person, I think it would be best if he didn't know about it, just in case he were to have a slip of the tongue and tell someone who definitely shouldn't know. We're just fortunate that President Markheim didn't find out about Arceus." Tracey nodded again. It made perfect sense to him now, even though he had suspected it before.

"I see what you mean. That brings me to another question: you said that you were discussing a plan with Brock. What exactly is this plan?" Brooke stopped to make eye contact with Tracey.

"Actually, I never relayed the details to him, since they're still pretty hazy in my head. I only mentioned that I had a plan, but I suppose I can tell you the basics." Tracey silently implied that he wanted her to continue. "I planned on releasing the legendary Pokémon with Arceus' help."

"Yet you have no idea how exactly you're going to do that, am I right?" She nodded, despite expecting a different reaction from him. "I'm guessing you forgot to mention this to Brock."

"Yeah, I did." She laughed halfheartedly. "Hey, can you blame me? I was quite shaken at the time after that storm hit."

"You mean when you had to save Brock from drowning?" She nodded again. "No, I can't blame you. I'm sure most people would have felt that way if it happened to them. In any case, you're both okay, and you've got a plan to save the world. That works for me. Don't forget that I'll support you in any way that I can to see this work." She beamed at his last statement.

"Thanks, Tracey," she said to him, giving him a tight hug without warning. "It's good to know that you're on my side – ahem, rather, _at_ my side." Tracey returned the hug, satisfied with the knowledge of her intentions and with the fact that he had just acted like a good friend to Brooke, even though they were only acquaintances.

The two teens separated when they heard a voice shouting from the building. Gallade had called to them and motioned them to come back inside to help Delia and Brock. They returned inside as they were told. Brooke mentioned to Tracey that she was going to change into some dry clothes before getting back to work, so she retreated to her bedroom.

Meanwhile at the dock Keith was reeling in another fish on his rod. He whipped his prize out of the water and placed the poor fish with the rest of the fish in his rather large pile, cheering as he did so.

"Do we really need that many fish?" Misty asked as she sweat-dropped. "There are only seven of us and probably a hundred fish in that pile." Perhaps Keith did catch too many fish…

"Yeah, I guess you do have a point there," Keith answered, chuckling to himself. "I suppose I'll just throw some of them back into the water, and then we can keep the good fish for lunch." Misty nodded in agreement and began to help Keith sort through the fish, keeping the good ones and throwing the bad ones back into the water.

Delia and Brock were making small talk as they worked diligently in the kitchen.

"Do you think that Keith might know about Arceus?" she inquired, looking a little worried.

"No, I don't think so," he answered. "Brooke told me that she had Arceus hide on the roof, and that's where it's been since then." They all had the same concern that even Keith shouldn't know about the Alpha Pokémon.

"Yeah, I certainly hope he doesn't find out about it," she mentioned. "We'd better watch our tongues, or something might slip." Brock nodded in agreement as he prepared gravy.

"What do you need me to do?" Tracey interjected as he entered the kitchen.

"Could you cut up some vegetables and put the salad mixings together?" Delia requested while checking the rice. Tracey got to work on that without even saying anything. He was pretty eager to help out.

"Where's Keith?" Brock inquired. "He and Misty were supposed to have brought the fish here by now."

"We're right here!" Keith shouted from afar as he and Misty brought in their haul. One hundred fish turned into only about a dozen and a half fish. With their help Brock got to work on cooking the fish, while Delia took over the job of making gravy. Tracey continued to prepare the salad.

At that moment Brooke walked into the kitchen with a clean outfit.

"It looks pretty cramped and busy in here," she commented. "Although, now that I think about it, I don't see Oak anywhere."

"Yeah, where is Professor Oak?" Misty asked, looking around. Just then they heard a voice shouting from the living area.

"Sorry!" he called. "I fell asleep on the sofa by accident." The others laughed. Oak made his way into the kitchen and decided to help out as a way to remedy that blunder. He, Delia, and Brock continued to cook, while Misty, Brooke, and Tracey carried plates and bowls of food to the outdoor table. Brooke and Tracey whispered to Misty and reminded her not to mention anything to Keith about Arceus. She understood this and confirmed it with a nod.

When everything was ready the group gathered around the table and proceeded to eat. Some of the Pokémon invited themselves to portions of fish (especially Floatzel), while the rest of them resorted to just eating berries or Pokémon food. One particular Pokémon, though, was not joining in on the feast.

"Gallade, how come you're not eating anything?" Brooke asked as she turned in her seat to look at the Blade Pokémon. He sat on the ground with his arms folded and his legs crossed, facing away from the group and looking into the horizon.

"_I'm not hungry_," he said to her and to her only. "_There's too much on my mind right now. I'll eat something later_." Brooke was a bit concerned, but there was no point in trying to force him to eat.

"Alright then, suit yourself," she replied, getting back to her meal. The majority of lunchtime was spent not talking very much, likely because everyone was stuffing their faces with incredibly good food. Some small talk was made, but otherwise it was a rather uneventful meal. That was probably a good thing, since most of the group was tired of the drama.

Sometime after the group had finished eating and clearing the table, they spent a good part of the afternoon just relaxing. Keith went fishing (for sport) again, and Misty decided to do the same. Delia decided to sunbathe. Tracey and Brock were playing with the Pokémon, while Oak took another nap.

Brooke was inside playing chess and having a snack with – whom else? – Gallade.

"Okay, now you can explain yourself," Brooke said to him after she insisted on him having some kind of food. They finally agreed on having some toasted chips. "What exactly was on your mind earlier?" The Blade Pokémon was hesitant on saying anything, but he had to tell her the truth.

"_To be honest I don't trust that man, Keith_," he answered as he moved his white knight to steal her black pawn. "_Something doesn't seem right about him, and I think he's up to something_."

"Oh really? What's up with him?" She moved her black bishop to steal his white rook. This was news to her, as no one had raised any suspicions about Keith until Gallade mentioned this to her. After all, she didn't think anything bad of him.

"_I can't explain it very well, but I could sense a strong vibe emanating from him. Something deceitful resides in his soul; I just don't know what it is_." He ate some more chips and gathered his thoughts. _"I think it has something to do with Arceus_."

"But he doesn't know about Arceus, or at least he shouldn't know." Brooke also ate some chips and drank a lemonade/iced tea mix (she called it an Arnold Palmer). "You're worried that he might find out about Arceus, aren't you?" He nodded.

"_Somehow I think that if Keith learns of its origins and power, then he might become ambitious and try to capture it. That can't happen, and I won't allow it_." He moved his white queen to steal her black knight.

"You're right, Gallade." She moved her black rook to steal his white bishop, leaving his white king in danger. "Check. Of course, Arceus is hiding quietly on the roof, and it's invisible, so Keith can't see or get to it."

"_**Yes, everything is as it should be for the moment**__**,**_" Arceus' voice boomed in their minds. Only the two of them could hear it. Gallade was a bit more surprised at the fact that it could hear them and speak to them from such a distance. A couple moves later Gallade still had his doubts.

"_Still, I believe that Keith is suspicious of us, thinking that we're hiding something from him. If he knows that we're keeping secrets, then he's likely trying to learn the truth_."

"Don't worry; we'll keep an eye on him for now. I know you will, anyway." She ate some more chips. "I'll relay this message to the others and let them know how you feel."

"_Thank you_." He moved his white knight once again and left her black king defenseless. "_Checkmate_."

"Aww, man, you won again!" She sighed, being a bit disappointed at losing the game. "I'll admit that I suck out loud at chess, but then again I think I taught you well." He just smirked and ate another chip. "Anyway, let's go tell the others about your case." Brooke got up and invited Gallade to tag along with her, and they made their way outside to meet up with the rest of the group. They had a lot to tell them, after all.

Dinnertime that night ran its course in almost the same manner as lunchtime, except that Gallade had actually joined the others in having a meal, while Keith left towards the end of dinner to take a phone call, saying that he was going to retire shortly afterward.

That gave everyone else the same idea. After clearing the table and gathering the Pokémon, the others bid each other good night and retreated to their rooms.

Of course, before they went to bed, the Blade Pokémon had something to ask.

"_Brooke, is it all right with you if I stay out of my Pokéball for another night? I can't help but think that Keith will try to do something, and I just want to be precautious_."

"Sure, that's fine," she answered. "Now, I don't know if he's actually going to do anything in the middle of the night, but I suppose you can stay on guard for a while. Just don't keep yourself awake all night." He nodded in agreement.

Brooke changed into her flannel clothes and crawled under the covers, bidding her Pokémon good night before she fell asleep. Gallade, on the other hand, sat on the other side of the bed and stared out the window.

For what seemed like hours Gallade kept his senses heightened and stayed alert for any sign of a problem. As if he was meditating, he listened for the slightest sound, he let the slightest breeze touch his skin to indicate movement, and he tapped into his Psychic power to 'see' everything around him. There was no way that Keith was going to get past him.

After a while, though, he gave up and fell asleep on the spot, while still guarding his trainer even in slumber.


	10. A Boatload of Trouble

Author's Notes: Hello again, readers! It's been several months since I last updated this story, but at least it hasn't been too long (like, oh, I dunno...a WHOLE YEAR! XD). I've got news for you: I'm all finished with college, which means I now have more free time to work on this story. :D Also, I think I'm making an amazing comeback against the enemy that is writer's block. So, more chapters should be posted a little more frequently now.

This chapter should show the plot picking back up. It's been a while since anything really exciting has happened with our heroes and the Arceus, so this chapter should be refreshing. Of course, if you guys were already entertained from the last few chapters, then that works for me, too. :P Enjoy, and let me know what you guys think with reviews. Thank you!

By the way, Pokémon X and Y are coming out later this year, and yet I still do not own Pokémon. They belong to Nintendo and Game Freak.

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Chapter 9: A Boatload of Trouble

The next morning quickly arrived, but it wasn't exactly peaceful as mornings normally were.

"Everybody wake up!" a loud voice shouted from the halls. "Today's the day! We've got to get going ASAP!" Several knocks on the door complemented the rather sudden wake-up call.

Brooke was, not surprisingly, startled into consciousness, yet she was rather displeased by the fact that her peace was disturbed. That was the first thing she noticed. The second thing she noticed was that the head of a certain Blade Pokémon had laid claim to her abdomen. Apparently he fell asleep on her during the night, and apparently he hadn't heard the shouting just moments ago.

"Gallade, wake up," she said to him while tapping his shoulder. It didn't take long for Gallade to respond, as he quickly woke up and sat upright, allowing her to move.

"_What is happening?_" he asked, seemingly alert.

"Apparently we have to wake up and get moving," she answered, still vexed about the reason. "Something about today being the day and leaving as soon as possible." Then everything made sense. She realized that it was Delia Ketchum who knocked at her door and yelled through the halls. Considering that this was the day to depart for Washington, D.C., it was no surprise that she didn't want to waste another minute staying on this island.

"_At first I thought that something was wrong_," Gallade mentioned with a slight sigh of relief. He must have picked up what Brooke was thinking, considering that she didn't say anything.

"Yeah, me too. Anyway, we shouldn't keep the others waiting. Let's get ready to go." With that said the Blade Pokémon helped his trainer pack her belongings while she changed into her trademark outfit. They fixed up the bed and then left the room. Immediately upon leaving the room they ran into both Misty and Tracey, who both had their stuff packed and ready to go.

"It sounds like Mrs. Ketchum is really energetic this morning," Misty commented with a giggle.

"Yeah, no kidding!" Brooke exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "She practically acted like a drill sergeant when she woke us up like that. Her shouting scared me half to death, and yet Gallade over here slept right through it." Tracey held back the urge to laugh, but he still smiled with amusement. She caught sight of this and smirked while raising a brow.

"Coming through!" someone shouted out of nowhere. Suddenly a dark blur zoomed between the Pokémon and the three teens that were only barely able to dodge it. They looked towards that direction and noticed that it was Brock with a few bags hanging on his shoulders and back.

"Hey, where are you going in such a rush?" Misty called after him.

"I'm helping the adults pack!" He answered without stopping. "Mrs. Ketchum will have our heads if we don't hurry up!" With that said he was out of sight. The others just blinked, likely dumbfounded by what had just occurred, or perhaps confused by said occurrence. Of course, they knew that Brock had a point.

"He's right, we should pick up the pace," Tracey suggested. The girls agreed with nods, and all four of them moved down the hall and downstairs to the first floor. They quickly met up with Delia and Professor Oak. The latter was making a few cups of coffee for the former and anyone else who wanted one. Tracey and Misty declined, but a certain blonde couldn't resist.

"Don't mind if I do," Brooke spoke up as she took a cup of coffee and sweetened it. "Thanks, Professor." Oak just nodded. She took a sip and looked around the kitchen and the living area. "Hey, wasn't Brock just down here?"

"He's helping Keith carry some of our bags down to the boat," Delia explained while Brooke drank her coffee. "He's so helpful; it reminds me of my dear Mimey at home." Brooke had no idea what she was talking about, until Tracey explained that it was the nickname for her Mr. Mime. Surely enough, her curiosity and her question were answered.

Speaking of Keith, though, the name reminded her of a certain god Pokémon that they had to take with them. She figured that now would be a good time to talk to Arceus, so she told the others that she was going outside for a few minutes and that she would be back. After asking Gallade to wait with them, she moved to one of the upper patios.

_Arceus, are you there?_ Brooke thought, finishing her coffee. She didn't want the sailor to overhear her. It didn't take long for the Alpha Pokémon to respond.

"_**Yes, what is it, Mother?**_" it retorted, speaking only into her mind. She had to get used to that sometime.

_We're about to leave this island soon, and we're heading to the mainland. Obviously Keith will be driving the boat, so you'll have to make sure that he doesn't see or hear you. Do not reveal yourself unless it's an emergency or unless I say otherwise, okay?_

"_**Understood**__**.**_" Arceus seemingly flew down to her level as its body phased in and out of sight for a brief moment. Satisfied with her warning, she smiled, nodded, and turned to go back inside. The Alpha Pokémon followed her like a big puppy, and yet no one could see it. Before Keith could return into the building with Brock, she subtly pointed a finger towards the air and mouthed the name 'Arceus' so that the others in the room understood what she meant. Of course, they all kept their mouths shut, and they planned on reminding Brock to do the same.

As if on cue the guys returned, ready to take whatever was left to carry.

"So, is everyone ready to go?" Keith inquired after surveying the area, while Brock picked up his backpack.

"I locked all of the doors and windows and turned off the electronics," Oak answered. "We can leave anytime now, and I'll be sure to send the key back to the travel agency. I've also got the flight booked, so we just have to get to the airport on time." Delia was practically giddy with excitement.

"In that case let's go now!" she suggested, practically pushing the others to go along with her. The rest of the group complied, though, considering their eagerness to get going as well. Brooke didn't move, however, for there was something she had to do first.

"All right, Gallade, I think you ought to return to your Luxury Ball for this trip," she said to the Blade Pokémon. He complied, despite his preference to walk with her, and in a red flash he retreated to his Luxury Ball. Brooke then clipped it to her belt and followed the others.

They (along with a hidden Arceus) all made their way to the dock where the boat was awaiting its passengers. Keith climbed into it first, and then he, Tracey, and Brock helped the others enter the boat and situate themselves comfortably. As soon as everyone was aboard, Keith took the helm and maneuvered the boat away from the dock, turning it around and driving it away from the summer villa island.

Since their departure time seemed to go by rather slowly for them. The majority of the trip thus far was uneventful, and some of the passengers were really bored – except Delia; she was just too giddy to be bored. Misty took another nap, while Oak read a book. Tracey and Brock were talking to each other, and Brooke, who was dealing with motion sickness again, leaned on the starboard side railing. Getting some fresh air was helping a lot.

At that point Keith called her name from the upper deck in order to get her attention. She turned to look up at him, and then she walked in his direction in order to talk to him. She assumed that whatever was on his mind had to be relatively important, anyway.

"Did you have something to say?" she asked him, trying to ignore her nausea.

"As a matter of fact, there is something that I wanted to ask you," Keith replied. He thought of the right words to say before he continued. "While you guys were on the island…was there something there that seemed unusual? Did you find anything out of the ordinary?" Brooke had assumed the inquiry to be an honest one, until she got the idea that he was asking about the Arceus egg. She decided to lie to him for the sake of protecting the Alpha Pokémon.

"I don't recall finding anything unusual," she answered strategically. "I don't think anyone else did, either, as far as I'm aware. Why?" Keith made eye contact with her from behind his sunglasses, and his face showed one of disappointment.

"Well, that doesn't sit well with me." His tone changed a bit, and she noticed this, despite the nausea. "You see…I've been searching for something on that island, and so far it's eluded me all this time. I had just hoped that maybe you found what I've been seeking. And you know what I think?" He surreptitiously reached behind his back and grabbed a Pokéball. "I think you're lying to me!" In the blink of an eye he threw the Pokéball at her, and a red light instantly appeared and wrapped itself around her before it formed into an Arbok that began to squeeze her to the point where she couldn't move.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" she yelled, trying to break free of the Cobra Pokémon's grip to no avail. Keith approached her with a chuckle.

"If I can't get answers out of you with words, then I'll have to force them out with my Arbok. Now, cut the bullshit and tell me the truth. I know that you saw something on that island. Tell me where that Pokémon egg is!" As soon as he said that, something clicked in her head. Brooke remembered the moment when she and Gallade had found that Pokémon egg and then kept it away from a bunch of Poison Pokémon. She remembered that Arbok was one of them, and then she made the connection.

"Pokémon egg? Wait a minute…so you were the one who attacked Gallade, is that right?" He nodded with an evil smirk. "But—"

"But you thought that I had left the island the day that happened, hmm?" Keith finished her comment before she could even start it. "Are you surprised? Well, you seem upset at that ploy to get you and your friends to lower your guard." Keith chuckled. Brooke was indeed not happy with Keith deceiving her group, but that wasn't going to get her to say anything about Arceus.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but that egg already hatched." As she spoke, she attempted to reach a Pokéball on her belt, but she couldn't move her arms at all. She yelled from the frustration of not being able to move.

This grabbed the attention of everyone inside the cabin, and they all rushed towards the upper deck. Brock and Tracey were the first ones to get up there, but before the others could catch up, Keith called out his Drapion and his Nidoqueen to stand on the lower deck and block the others' path up the stairs.

"Don't move any closer!" Keith commanded, removing his sunglasses to give them an intimidating look. "As a Team Rocket member, I'm handling an interrogation here, and you are not to interfere."

"Team Rocket?! Damnit, let her go!" Brock shouted, clenching his fists. He and Tracey wanted to make an attempt to release Brooke from the serpent coiled around her, but Arbok glared at them and bared its fangs, making the two men back away slightly.

"What do you want, anyway?" Tracey asked incredulously. He was clearly not happy with what Keith was doing, and neither was Brock. Such an act of betrayal caught the group off guard, and they had no idea that they were associating with a member of Team Rocket until this moment. Keith turned to Brooke once again.

"As I was saying, Brooke, if that egg hatched, then where is that Pokémon, huh? Where is Arceus?" Keith was clearly ignoring the two men, who were surprised to find out that Keith knew about the god Pokémon. He ordered Arbok to squeeze Brooke harder in order to get her to answer him. Eventually the pain became unbearable, and she practically screamed at the top of her lungs.

Tracey and Brock were about to send their Pokémon into battle, until something else happened: Arceus became visible above the boat, casting a huge shadow over the deck. Everyone including Keith looked up at the Alpha Pokémon as it looked down at Keith with an incredibly angry look.

"_**No one harms my mother and evades punishment!**_" it shouted telepathically so that everyone would hear its voice. Keith expressed a mix of fascination and terror, afraid to find out what Arceus would do to him and his Pokémon. "_**I pass Judgment on you!**_" Arceus prepared to cast an all-powerful attack on the enemy, but Tracey and Brock tackled the distracted Arbok and got Brooke away before any harm could come to her. The Alpha Pokémon unleashed a hellfire of raining light upon Keith and his Pokémon, causing a small explosion that blasted them away. Where would they land? Who knows? In any case the conflict was resolved, and aside from some damage to the boat, no one was severely hurt.

"Brooke, are you all right?" Tracey asked her as he helped her stand up. She nodded.

"She was right about Keith," Brock stated with a clenched fist. "There was something off about Keith, and now it's so obvious. He's a member of Team Rocket!"

"I can't believe we didn't notice that before!" Misty added with irritation. "I feel so stupid for realizing this just now."

"Don't feel bad, Misty," Oak interjected. "He had us all fooled. The good news is that no one got hurt and that the Pokémon are safe, especially Arceus." At the mentioning of its name, Brooke looked up to Arceus, clearly showing appreciation on her face.

"That was fantastic, Arceus. Thank you," she said to it. Arceus nodded.

"What exactly was that attack that it used?" Tracey inquired.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I did hear it say that it 'passed Judgment' on Keith," Brock answered. "Judgment must be its signature attack."

"It certainly is powerful," Oak added, looking up at Arceus. "To think that we all bore witness to its might just now – I can't help but feel the slightest bit sorry for Keith, even if he was up to no good."

"Speaking of Keith, I just thought of something," Delia interrupted. "Now that he's gone, there's no one to drive the boat. So then, how are we supposed to get to shore now?"

"Well, does anyone know how to operate this thing?" Misty asked, looking around at anybody who might've said yes at that point. She hung her head and sighed when she received no response. Just then Arceus spoke up.

"_**Worry not. I am capable of transporting all of you to the mainland,**_" it said to the group. The others looked at each other with slight confusion, until the boat glowed faintly and began to move on its own – or rather, under the control of Arceus. Delia was the first to react, as she cheered for the continued voyage towards the shore. The others were quite pleased at this as well, considering that they were on an already tight schedule and needed to reach their destination as soon as possible.


End file.
